Evolution
by Ken
Summary: The Abh Empire faces a mysterious new enemy. Lafiel and Jinto are thrown into a chaotic war where they are unsure whom or what they are really fighting.
1. Chapter 01 & 02

**Evolution**

**A Banner of the Stars story by Ken Wolfe**

Some notes to Banner of the Star fans. In this story I have made as little use of Baronh words as possible. The spelling of names is generally according to that established in the English translation of the novels released by Tokyopop. Where required I also used the Bandai translation of the anime as a source. So the spelling is not according to the True Baronh established by the author. I made these decisions to improve the readability of the story. I have tried to make the continuity consistent with the novels up to the beginning of Banner of the Stars IV, though I also took some inspiration from the anime adaptation.

Banner of the Stars is copyright Hiroyuki Morioka. English translations of the novels are copyright Tokyopop. The anime adaptation is copyright Bandai. They retain all rights to Banner of the Stars and all characters therein. This story is a work of fan fiction and may not be printed or distributed for profit.

**Prologue**

He entered the room at the appointed hour. As expected, the young technician was sitting in her usual white lab coat, waiting for him. She nodded in greeting. "Good morning, Captain."

"Good morning, Ensign," he responded. "Jane Doe case eighty-three, correct?"

"Yes. She's all ready."

The case was lying on the bed in her too-perfect body. The hospital gown left her brown arms and legs exposed. The bed's back was raised, giving him a good view of the now familiar face. Right now there was nothing behind that slightly alien beauty, not even dreaming. And there would not be anything, not until he gave the word. _I hate the Jane Doe cases. This work is creepy enough at the best of times, but not even knowing who it is makes it that much worse._ All they knew was that this one had been picked up in a raid on a private residence two hundred miles from Hania City. They had caught nobody who could give them even a hint at her background. The scans had not shown any known pattern, about all they could tell was that she was female. Hence the body she had been given. She could be any one of a hundred people. One of his first jobs was to find out who she was.

He sat down next to the bed. With experience they had found that having a senior officer in uniform interview the subject right away led to fewer problems later on. There was a greater chance of building trust. The design of the room also helped. The trappings of a medical clinic were more or less redundant, but it tended to reassure the subjects that they were being taken care of. "Okay, let's proceed."

The technician touched a button at her terminal. The woman in her synthetic body stirred. The big, dark eyes opened up. She looked first at him and at the technician. She was surprised and wary, but not utterly bewildered. She raised her hands and glanced at them only briefly. There was not the look of utter horror you usually saw on first-timers, and her motor control was good. She had been through this before. "Good morning," the Captain said. "Don't worry, you're safe now. Can you tell me your name?"

Her new face was the best they could make, it expressed her anger and hatred vividly. "Safe? I'm dead! I'm supposed to be dead! I died years ago! How many times do you have to do this to me?"

"Never again, if that is what you wish," the Captain said mildly.

She still regarded him warily. "Are you really a Captain in the Star Fleet?"

He raised an eyebrow. "You know something about the service then?"

"I have a nephew and a grandson in the service."

_Bingo. _"Yes, I am Captain Brenslaw of the Hania Star Fleet."

She still eyed him suspiciously. "Where am I?"

"In the Vensath system."

She shook her head, making her long black synthetic hair sway. "I've never heard of it."

"Few people have."

He had noticed the technician discreetly tapping on her palmtop. "Ma'am, is your name Miriam Hender?" the technician asked.

She looked at the technician with astonishment. "Nobody's ever asked me my name before," she said very softly, more to herself it seemed.

That would suggest her past experiences had been of the worst possible kind. If that were true it was amazing how lucid and calm she actually was. "Miriam, it appears you understand what has been done to you," the Captain asked. "We have done the same, and for that I ask your pardon. You can be euthanized again if that is your wish. It is entirely up to you. But before you make up your mind, I want to talk with you about a project we would like your help with."

Miriam Hender frowned. "A project? What are you talking about?"

The Captain smiled. "It is a very special, very secret project. Let me tell you about it..."

# # #

**Chapter 1 - The Home Front**

There were few things that Deputy Hecto-Commander Abriel Lafiel hated more than dictating reports. It seemed all the more onerous when the essence of the report could be summed up in one very short sentence: _My ship is now ready to return to active service._

Lafiel managed to smile a bit, looking over the concluding portion of the written report that she had just finished dictating to the house computer. She tried imagining the response she would get from squadron commander Atosuryua if she handed in a one-sentence report. From what Lafiel heard, Admiral Spoor was about the only officer in the fleet who would actually appreciate and even accept a report like that. But Atosuryua would want to see a bit more evidence that all of the ship captains in her squadron had inspected their vessels with due diligence. In the process of gathering information for her report Lafiel had crawled through parts of her frigate that she frankly had not known existed. It would be an exaggeration to say that she had traversed every crawl space of the hundred-meter starship, but it certainly felt like she had.

Lafiel instructed the house computer to send the report to her commander, and it vanished from her desk viewer. She stood and stretched. It only now occurred to her how incongruous it was for her to be wearing her Space Force uniform in her bedroom here in the family mansion. This had been her room since she was a child growing up here in the Imperial Capital. As befitted a Princess of one of the eight families of Abriel, the room was large and luxuriantly decorated with rich fabrics. Since she joined the Space Force she had rarely been back to the capital, so this suite was usually left unused. Since her squadron happened to be stationed here at the capital now, it had seemed the natural place where she could get some work done without being disturbed. But somehow she felt out of place here. _Do I still think of this as a child's room?_

She walked over to the large window and stood before it, gazing out into the airless void. She could see two of the massive space cities that made up the capital of the Abh Empire. Lakfakalle consisted of several huge floating cities that orbited each other in a never-ending dance through space. As a child she would often stay up later than she was supposed to, mesmerized by what appeared to her young eyes as sparkling jewels, bigger than she could imagine. Eventually she began to understand that she lived in one of those jewels. Later, she came to understand that she might one day rule over them, along with half the galaxy.

Lafiel's grandmother had been Empress until her recent voluntary abdication. Dusanyu, the current Emperor, was a member of the Lamsar family, another one of the Eight. He had been Imperial Admiral of the Space Force, which had effectively made him the heir apparent. He would likely be Emperor for another forty years or more. When he abdicated, the council of former Emperors would select another candidate from among the eight families of Abriel.

_Will they be considering me?_ Unlikely, most Emperors did not ascend to the throne until they were a hundred years old or more. She was only twenty-three standard years old. If she were to be Empress, it would likely be after whomever succeeded Dusanyu.

That is, assuming she managed to live that long.

If she were to have any hope of becoming Empress, she would have to attain the rank of Admiral at the very least. With a war on, promotion in the combat units came only to those who showed exemplary service in battle. And lived to tell about it. Since she joined the squadron it had lost three ships with all hands. One of those ships could just as easily have been hers.

_What do I care about more, staying alive or doing my duty to the Empire?_ In one sense it was a moot point: nobody would give her the choice. For Royalty, service in the Space Force was not an option, and accepting promotion when given was not an option either. She had long since realized that the ruling families of the Empire were the least free of all its 960 billion inhabitants. And no matter how she thought about it, she was forced to conclude that was the way it had to be. It was very annoying.

In danger of falling into another bout of acute depression, Lafiel's thoughts naturally drifted to a single question. _I wonder what Jinto is doing?_ He had finished his tasks related to the refitting of the Frikov early yesterday, so Lafiel had told him to regard the next two days as free time. Since then she had occasion to take meals or refreshments with him when she was taking a break from her work. He would have told her if he was going anywhere, so he must still be somewhere on the estate. "Computer, locate Count Hyde."

"Count Hyde is currently in the Nursery" the room replied with its monotone, vaguely female voice.

The nursery? What was he doing there? The room would be unused now since currently there were no infants or toddlers in the Dubrusk family being raised here. "What is he up to now?" Lafiel muttered to herself.

"Unknown," the room replied.

"Be quiet." Before leaving, Lafiel checked herself in the mirror and gave her long blue hair a quick combing. That hair color and the very pale skin were the most obvious outward traits of the engineered Abh race. The silver metal tiara she wore on her brow covered the most unusual trait of her race: the small, diamond-shaped sense organ embedded in her forehead. In conjunction with the tiara, the Froth gave the Abh a unique sixth sense that allowed them to sense everything around them like a 3-D radar screen. When hooked into ship systems it gave them instant knowledge of the ship's state and surroundings. The Froth gave Abh pilots a definite edge over their lander counterparts, and was likely one of the major reasons they were winning the war. Lafiel was slightly shorter than normal for her race, but the only thing that would really make her stand out from most Abh were her pointed ears, the distinctive trademark of the Abriel royal families.

Lafiel made her way to the nursery. She had spent much of her early life here, so the route from her bedroom to the nursery was about as familiar as any could be. She encountered nobody on the way there. The rest of her family were with their various Space Force units, as most members of the royal families were. And what few vassals remained to maintain the estate made a virtue of being invisible until called for. Her boot heels made a lonely sound echoing down the corridors. Father has changed the paintings again, Lafiel noted. They had a collection of original paintings stored on the estate, and her father regularly sent instructions on which ones to display in the hallways of the near-deserted estate. Even when he was busy commanding a fleet on the other side of the galaxy. Sometimes Lafiel really wondered about him.

Lafiel keyed open the door to the nursery. It quickly became apparent what Jinto was doing here. He was running in circles.

The nursery was a cube fifteen meters across. All six walls had padded fabric with large pictures of animals and cartoon characters done in bright colors. When the gravity field was deactivated it was a perfect environment for young children to experience microgravity and gain an intuitive feel for how objects moved in free fall. It was a vital way for Abh to learn how to properly use the Froth that allowed them to pilot starships as if they were extensions of their bodies. But clearly Jinto had the gravity field on since he was running quickly across the wall which was flush with the corridor floor.

He happened to be running away from her at the moment, so all she saw were slim arms and legs pumping and a mop of auburn hair dancing. He turned a corner and she could see the side of his flushed face. He was panting heavily, he must have been at this for a while now. As he turned the next corner to face her Lafiel stepped into the room. She yelped and nearly fell to the floor.

He noticed her staggering into the room and stopped running. "Lafiel?", he said in a breathy voice. "Are you okay?"

"Jinto, what have you done with the gravity field?" Lafiel snapped. "It must be set at nearly two gees!"

"One point five, actually," he said between heavy intakes of breath as he walked towards her. "The Computer told me." Pant. "This is the only room." Pant. "Where I can set it that high."

"Yes, but why would you?"

"I thought it would be a nice way to get in my daily high gravity exercises."

"I suppose that makes sense." Jinto was a lander by birth, he had grown up on the surface of a planet. He did not have the Abh genetic enhancements that prevented muscle atrophy. Most living spaces in Abh space structures and ships maintained a gravity field of only one-half gee. Landers who spent a great deal of time in Abh space structures had to do regular high gravity exercises to maintain muscle tone. "Using a treadmill in a tiny exercise room every day must be tedious."

"And they won't let me put the gravity in the hallways past point-five."

"You mean you _tried?_"

"Yeah, the computer said no can do."

"I am having second thoughts about giving you the run of the house."

"All the doorway displays show the gravity field settings. Speaking of which, didn't you bother to check?"

Lafiel was stung by this suggestion that she share the guilt. "How was I to know you would use our nursery in such a way?"

"What, you never tried it when you were a kid? How high does it go anyway?"

"Three gees. And no, don't even think about it." Lafiel planted her hands on her hips and looked away. "Besides, do you always run in your underwear?"

"Oops." Jinto suddenly looked very uncomfortable in his shorts and sleeveless shirt. "Um, I thought you were still working."

Lafiel sighed. "When you're finished, why don't you join me in the Winter Garden?"

"Sure. Now that I think of it that's the one garden I haven't seen yet."

The Winter Garden was the most austere of the family's four Seasonal Gardens. Lafiel sat down on one of the benches and reacquainted herself with it. The big room consisted mostly of rock gardens, evergreen trees, and a variety of spiky plants, only a few of which had some small blossoms. Its glowing white ceiling made it the brightest of the gardens, so it had a charm which easily matched the Spring, Summer and Autumn gardens. The four walls projected pictures of snow-covered landscapes from one of the planets in the Abh Empire, Lafiel was not even sure which one. She had only ever been on two planets, and neither of them had looked like this.

Before long Jinto walked into the garden. He was now in his Space Forces uniform, presumably donned after a quick shower. Jinto was a lander just a year older than her and slightly taller, with a slim frame that he somehow never quite looked comfortable wearing. Jinto's habit of stumbling his way through the world annoyed Lafiel to no end. But somehow seeing the easygoing look on his face always managed to put her at ease. Lafiel often wondered if a less lackadaisical man could have dealt with the improbable set of circumstances that had snatched Jinto from an unremarkable life on an isolated planet and thrown him into the very heart of the galactic maelstrom. That he could be tossed around so mercilessly by the fates and keep a smile on his face was a source of comfort for Lafiel. She was very glad to have him as her best friend.

Jinto greeted her and sat on the bench beside her. "So, did you give the Frikov a clean bill of health?"

"Yes, though I wonder if the crew will recognize it. The shipyard did everything short of disassembling my ship and putting it back together again, and I swear they would like to have done that if they could."

"Well, we've been rather rough with her."

"True enough." Since taking command of the ship Lafiel had taken it into several battles in the course of Operation Twin Thorn. Most of its major weapon systems had been repaired or replaced at least once, along with a good deal else. The armor had been an unsightly patchwork when they brought it into the Imperial shipyards. But the main reason for the extended refit was to evaluate how the frigates were holding up to extended use. It was a new model ship, and these evaluations would go towards deciding whether to proceed with mass production. "The only ship still being refitted is the Marusukov, and that will probably be done in two or three days. Once that happens we'll most likely be assigned back to the 24th fleet."

"So at least we get a couple of days rest while we're here. Did you have any plans?"

"Plans?" Lafiel really had none. "All the people I would want to visit are away."

"Isn't your grandmother in the capital?"

"Yes, she is. I did pay her a courtesy call soon after we arrived. It seems she's even busier with the Former Emperor's Congress than she was as Empress. I would just as soon not impose on her time."

"What is the Congress up to these days, or is that classified?"

"Well what are they _not _up to?" Lafiel asked, mildly annoyed at the silly question. "They don't just select the next Emperor a couple of times per century you know. Their job is to advise the Emperor, and there are a thousand different matters competing for their attention. Especially now."

"It's a shame the genetic engineers never perfected cloning. Just clone a thousand Former Emperors to get the work done."

"We do have cloning, but you know perfectly well it doesn't work that way. I guess it would solve a lot of problems if it did. A thousand of you and me kept on ice, ready to be thawed out when the Empire needs them."

"A thousand people with your temper? Now that's a scary thought."

Lafiel sniffed. "A thousand of you is a lot more scary."

"Not really. Put us all in the same room and we would just never be able to decide to do anything."

"That I can well imagine. Speaking of decisions, have you decided what you would like to do with your days off?"

Jinto's smile widened in a way that made Lafiel uneasy. "Lately I've been thinking that one thing I haven't done in a long time is to go swimming. Is there a swimming pool anywhere in the capital?"

Lafiel tried to get her head around this word but suspected this was some lander concept that she wasn't quite understanding. "A swimming pool? You mean a bath?"

"A swimming pool is like a really big bath. It's long enough and deep enough for you to swim in a straight line for a while without touching the bottom or the sides."

"Without touching bottom? Wouldn't you go under the water and suffocate?"

"You mean drown."

"Right." The word 'drown' in the Baronh language sounded rather archaic to her ears. It referred to something that was part of the world the Abh's creators came from but was not part of their own world, much like 'ocean' or 'whale.'

Jinto cocked his head. "Lafiel, you don't mean to tell me you can't swim?"

Lafiel smiled. She knew a challenge when she heard one. "I won't know until I've tried."

# # #

In his dealings with the Abriel family, Jinto had quickly come to two conclusions about them. First, they never think small. Second, they never do things by halfway measures.

The moment Lafiel had decided she was going to go swimming, it had become a Mission. Their first try had been to see if there was a bath anywhere large enough to be used as a swimming pool. It turned out the Emperor's palace had one that was ten meters across but still not deep enough. Lafiel had contacted the palace staff to see if the water level could be raised. The Chamberlain himself had called back by video phone and given them a very stern lecture about the dangers of deep water and how disturbed he was that anybody could even contemplate such a flagrant violation of safety regulations.

Not one to take defeat lying down, Lafiel had made further inquiries. Jinto had watched with mixed amusement and wonder as she sat at her desk calling one government agency after another. Eventually they found that the Special Forces Regiment of the Ground Forces had a pool they used for training. The flustered officer they contacted had given a very polite answer that boiled down to "we'll get back to you." Minutes later, the Special Forces Kilo-Commander himself had called back to say that since they were both Space Force officers with impeccable credentials the Regiment could consider allowing a special "training session" for them.

So now here Jinto was, doing a languid side-stroke back and forth across the deep end of a competition-sized pool. _Not quite what I had in mind, but give them credit for trying. _

To save his poor friend any embarrassment, Jinto made a point of ignoring the shallow end of the pool where a Special Forces Deca-commander was instructing Lafiel in the basics of venturing into the deep end without drowning. It would have been a lot more fun if Jinto could have taught her himself. Their assigned lifeguard and instructor had been excruciatingly polite, but he had very firmly insisted that only a qualified instructor could teach the Princess how not to drown. To be fair they were actually being very nice about this. After all, swimming was considered to be a very specialized skill among the Abh. This was rather as if on his home world the Prime Minister's daughter had shown up at an army barracks and announced that she wanted to learn how to drive an armored car.

The barely-heard talking that echoed from the other end of the pool came to a stop. Jinto casually changed his swimming stroke to face that end of the pool and was happy to see Lafiel approaching him using a fair approximation of a breaststroke. Her instructor had exited the pool and was discreetly taking his post at the lifeguard's seat to the side of the pool. _Good, Lafiel only looks mildly pissed off._

"That was quick," Jinto said cheerfully. "Are you sure you've never done this before?"

"Not that I remember. Most children swim a little when their parents take them into a large bath, I presume I must have done that too."

"They say swimming is one of the things you never forget once you've learned." He came up parallel to her and matched her pace. In the half-gee gravity field the chaos of small waves moved across the surface of the water with a slow grace that made it seem somewhat unreal. Everything looked just a little different in the reduced gravity, from the way people walked to the way their hair swayed. It gave life among the Abh a somewhat dreamlike quality, something that had only added to the surrealistic feeling he had experienced in his first years among them. _Still "Them." It seems I've been here forever but I still think of this as her world, not mine._

"Shall we pick up the pace a bit?" Lafiel asked.

"Sure." She switched to a front crawl and he did likewise. Somehow he was not surprised this was turning into an endurance race. Lafiel was fiercely competitive even for an Abriel, and she had a tendency to show off. He had to be careful what he said around her. Jinto was afraid that if he dared her to test out the hardiness of her engineered Abh body by sailing across a mile of hard vacuum in her shirtsleeves she just might take him up on it.

Jinto was the more experienced and efficient swimmer, and had muscles developed in higher gravity, but Lafiel more than made up for that by being a quick study and with her sheer stubborn will. It was Jinto who eventually suggested they take a break, but by that time Lafiel looked like she could use one too. She swam to the edge of the pool and pulled herself up to sit on the edge, her legs dangling in the water. Jinto deliberately held back a bit so that he had at least a moment to admire the view from an advantageous angle. She wore a modest, functional black one-piece suit, but she certainly made it look good. In a concession to practicality her normally loose hair was gathered behind the back of her neck in a long ponytail. Jinto pulled himself up beside her. He had been dismayed to find that the Abh idea of proper male swim wear involved something that covered the torso. His own swimsuit was distressingly similar to hers. Lafiel did not seem to find this at all unusual, but Jinto really felt like a dork.

After he had caught his breath, Jinto said "You know, you might be more comfortable without your wristband."

"I just kept it on without thinking. Technically I am still on duty. But this is a military facility, so if I take it off HQ will still be able to locate and contact me here." She took the communication device off her wrist and shook the water off.

"I took mine off since I was too embarrassed to ask whether it's waterproof."

"Of course it is. They are very durable. Anything that could damage it would probably kill the wearer. This is the same one I had when we were on Planet Clasbul."

"You took a few nasty falls while we were there. Under fire, no less."

"That's right. But the wristband is still as good as new."

"Can I see?" She handed it to him and he inspected it. "You're right, it hasn't got a scratch." He tossed it into the pool.

"Ah!" Lafiel turned on him angrily. "What did you do that for?"

"I wanted to see if it floats. I'm kind of surprised that it doesn't. That would be a good feature you know, supposing you lose it in the water?"

"Idiot!"

"Don't worry, I'll go get it." Jinto stood up and dove back into the pool. Under the water he could see the wristband still floating slowly down to the bottom. He grabbed it and swam underwater to the middle of the deep end. After he came to the surface Jinto turned and waved his prize over his head. "It looks okay. Should I try turning it on?"

"It won't work for you. Stop being such a child and just give it to me!"

Jinto decided things could get violent if he didn't comply. He tossed the wristband to her and she caught it easily. Rather than donning it, she just placed it at the side of the pool and dove into the water. It was not a bad dive for what was presumably her first one, not a belly-flop by any means but certainly a great deal of water splashed up by incorrectly positioned arms and legs. He waited for her to surface. And waited. A stream of bubbles came to the surface, and some more time passed. _Uh-oh._ He was about to draw the lifeguard's attention to the situation when suddenly he was grabbed by the ankles and yanked under the water. _Damn. Sucker-punched again._

# # #

Jinto took some more of his drink and put it back on the little table. He felt tired, but it was a good kind of tired. "Now that's more like what I call swimming."

Lafiel smiled. Just the sight of her sitting by the pool in a wet swimsuit was worth the price of admission. "I guess I misunderstood. I had the impression that you just did laps to improve stamina."

"Just doing that would be boring." After a couple of hours aimlessly horsing around in the water, Jinto was glad that Lafiel seemed to appreciate the appeal of wasting time in a pool. Getting his Princess to relax was one of the great challenges of his life. He chalked up this day as a success. "Maybe we can start a new trend of recreational swimming in the Empire. No space palace would be complete without a swimming pool."

"The Abh are really not subject to 'trends'."

"I suppose not." Over the past nine hundred years the Abh empire had grown to reach right from one end of the galaxy to the other. But in all that time Abh culture had changed very little. Lafiel had explained it to him a long time ago, the thing that all Abh know but rarely talk about. Their ancestors were genetically engineered slaves who had rebelled against their masters. Fearing retaliation, the rebel slave-soldiers had built up their fleet and launched a preemptive attack on their masters' space city. Their masters had all but forgotten about them and had no interest in even finding their wayward slaves, and yet the Abh destroyed them out of fear. As penance for this original sin, the Abh kept a facsimile of their masters' culture preserved, like an extinct animal frozen in amber. They had slain their masters, but the Abh were determined to preserve a living replica of that lost culture for all time. When asked why something could not be changed, Jinto had found that the Abh invariably reply "That is the way we traditionally do things."

"Did you get a new report from Samson?" Lafiel asked.

Jinto thought that was sort of a boring subject, but he knew Lafiel would not stop bugging him until she was satisfied. "Yes, I did. My second antimatter production plant will be online within the month." Samson was a big bear of a man from the planet Midgrat. He had been chief engineer on Lafiel's last ship, a small assault craft where Jinto had also been supply officer. Jinto had followed Lafiel to her new ship after her promotion, but Samson had retired from the Space force after his required service was done. He was still not even a middle-aged man and had planned to go back to farming on Midgrat, but Jinto had persuaded him to oversee the construction of antimatter production facilities in his territory, the Hyde system.

His territory. The home world he could never return to.

"Did you not want to talk about that right now?" Lafiel asked innocently. She was well attuned to his moods just as he was to hers, but she probably misinterpreted his melancholy as reluctance to talk business on his time off.

"It's okay. I was just thinking how I miss Samson being with us." Which was not his main regret at the moment but was not a lie either. Samson was a lander like him but with much more experience living among the Abh. He had been a tremendous help in the years when Jinto was desperately trying to fit in to this strange new world.

"You are fortunate to have him as a vassal. But you can't leave everything in his hands, you know. Ultimately the Hyde territory is your responsibility." Her look softened. "I also miss having him with us," she said gently.

"Oh, that reminds me." Jinto reached for his wristband, lying on a shelf next to the table. "Samson's package included something for you from Seelnay, a video letter and a parcel."

Lafiel's eye twitched. "Oh. Well, I had best see the letter then."

Jinto managed to suppress a smile. Seelnay was a former vassal and servant for the late Baron Febdash, brother of their current squadron commander. In the wake of the surprise attack on the Empire which had started the current war, Jinto and Lafiel had found themselves prisoners of the deranged Baron. They had enlisted Seelnay's help in escaping, but in the process Lafiel had been forced to kill the Baron. It was a tribute to commander Atosoryua's character that she bore them no grudge. In the course of these unfortunate events, Seelnay had become Lafiel's vassal. The bright, lively young woman had also become fiercely devoted to her new lord, she fairly worshipped the ground Lafiel walked on.

They both donned their wristbands and effected the data transfer. "I'll give you the package later, whatever it is."

Lafiel grunted a noncommittal reply. She touched a button on her wristband. "Hello Your Highness!" Seelnay's unmistakable chirpy voice came from the device. "I was so glad to hear that you got back safely to the capital! I wish I could have been there to see you, I miss you so much! Did you get my package? It's nothing really, but I just wanted you to have something that I had got for you! It's this really great bath oil I found, you must try it! It's kind of special, before you get into the bath you rub it all over-"

Lafiel's finger came down on the wristband like a striking viper. She cleared her throat. "Perhaps I'll listen at another time. You may send me her package at your convenience."

Jinto smiled. "Will do." He could see a change of subject was in order. "I've been meaning to ask, did you get any message from your brother?"

"Yes, he sent me a text letter. He is still serving on the battleship Kaisofu. It sounds like he is doing well, though reading between the lines I suspect he is being bullied by his commander."

"What makes you say that?"

"He makes vague complaints of being unable to please his superiors. If their displeasure were justified then Duhiiru would have told me why in great detail, he tends to wax eloquent about his own mistakes."

"It seems that abusing their subordinates is a popular hobby among Abh officers."

Lafiel frowned. "Meaning what?"

"Meaning I am very fortunate you are the exception that proves the rule."

It seemed to take a moment for Lafiel to decide that she would just let that slide. "Many officers think that being the subject of unfair treatment is a legitimate rite of passage for those who lack experience. If Duhiiru is serving a commander whom is of that opinion then he will have to rise to the occasion and prove himself worthy of respect. To be honest, I think my brother could benefit from a little bullying. Left to himself he is maddeningly indecisive. He would be quite happy never to accomplish anything."

"I hope I can meet him some day, it sounds like we would get along well."

"I'm certain that you would, depressingly so."

Jinto just smiled. Abh family relations were still very much a mystery to him. They had no concept of marriage, even the most devoted couples stuck together just long enough to raise two or three children. And most couples had their children conceived in artificial wombs. In fact that was how Lafiel had been borne. Lafiel's mother had died early in the war, so the only immediate family she had left was her father and brother. Her attitude towards her father seemed to be one of simmering irritation, and she appeared all but indifferent about her brother. Jinto had not even been aware she had any sibling until quite some time after he had met her. Of course, it was probably a mistake to generalize about Abh family values based on Lafiel's experience, her father was generally regarded as at best eccentric. What could you say about a man who had at one point told his only daughter that her genetic mother was a cat?

Lafiel did pass on a bit more news from her brother. Their ship had been in a number of battles since being assigned to the 11th Twin Thorns fleet. That fleet was assigned to the second of the two pincers which the Empire was sending into enemy territory as part of Operation Twin Thorns. The object of the operation was to isolate the three nations of the Triple Alliance from each other. With that accomplished, the ability of the enemy to coordinate a counterattack would be crippled and they could be defeated in detail. The enemy had taken a stubborn defensive stand in the path of both thorns of the pincer attack. So progress had been steady but slow. It was really beginning to look like the enemy was hoping for a slow war of attrition to grind away at the Empire's offensive power, and Jinto made a comment to this effect.

"A war of attrition is just a war of wills," Lafiel pointed out. "The side that loses its will to fight first loses the war, it's that simple. The Abh will never lose the will to fight so we can never lose such a war."

"I can't dispute that. The nations of the Triple Alliance have been dealing with the Abh for centuries, you would think they could figure that out."

Lafiel shrugged. "Perhaps they had been hoping for a quick victory and now they have no other plan to fall back on."

That seemed to be the prevailing attitude among many people Jinto spoke with. The initial attack of the Triple Alliance had nearly advanced all the way here to the Imperial capital, but had exhausted itself just short of its goal. Now eight years later, the current Imperial Space force was five times the size of the prewar fleet, so a successful attack on the core of the Empire was inconceivable. "It certainly makes you wonder why they didn't had a Plan B."

"I cannot imagine what that plan might be. If they continue with a purely defensive stance then even a stalemate is too much to hope for. It's very maddening."

"Maddening that we are winning?"

"Maddening to be fighting an enemy who seems to be utterly irrational. It numbs my mind trying to imagine what the enemy commanders are thinking. As a former lander, do you have any insight into their thinking that I might be missing?"

"Maybe they are planning to lose."

"You mean they will surrender?"

Jinto shook his head. "That's not quite what I meant."

Lafiel regarded him closely. "It sounds like something you have been thinking about."

Jinto just took a moment to collect his thoughts. Lafiel waited quietly. "I'm thinking that at least some of the leadership in the Triple Alliance must believe that they will inevitably become part of the Abh Empire," Jinto said. "Whether overtly or covertly, it would make sense for them to extend the war as long as possible."

"That sounds like a lot of pointless bloodshed just to delay the inevitable."

"As a supply officer I was taught to look at the war from an economic and social angle. I think of how an extended war will change the Empire itself."

"Change the Empire?"

Jinto nodded. "As we win the war, there are some things that are going to happen. We are going to be capturing many systems that will be turned into new territories of the Empire. That means that more of the Abh nobles are going to be first-generation like me. A lot more. It also means that a lot more landers are going to be recruited into both the Space force and the merchant fleet."

"So what of it? There are already nine hundred billion landers in the Empire and only thirty-five million Abh. Even if we absorb all the territories of the Triple Alliance it will barely double the lander population. That does not change the nature of the Empire in any way."

"Not by itself, no. But there is one other thing that's happening to the Abh. Nobody really talks about it, but it's pretty obvious if you look at the statistics that are sent to the supply officers."

"What do you mean?"

"It's pretty simple. A lot of us are dying. And we're not having many children."

Lafiel was momentarily taken aback by the comment. "Well certainly that's true. Many of us will have to delay having families because we are serving in the Space force. But we live for more than two hundred years, so waiting isn't a problem."

"Many of us won't live that long. And in the meantime there are less and less of us every day."

"Are you suggesting there is going to be some sort of revolt? We have been incorporating new territories into the Empire for nine hundred years. First-generation Abh are no less loyal and dedicated than the rest of us. You are proof of that."

Jinto smiled. "Why thank you."

"I'm serious!"

"I know, that's why I thank you."

Lafiel sighed. "You will forgive me, but sometimes it seems you do not have a single serious neuron in your brain."

"I have them, but they're hopelessly outnumbered."

"Okay, then rally your serious neurons and make your point."

"You're right that the Empire has successfully incorporated new territories for centuries. But we are likely about to absorb more new people in a few years than you ever did in the past nine centuries. And by the time it's done, there are going to be a lot fewer old-blood Abh families and a lot more new ones from a thousand different worlds that right now we know practically nothing about. I'm not trying to be gloom and doom, all I'm saying is that I think the Empire is going to change more in our lifetime than it has since it was founded. And maybe somebody on the other side has some ideas about how they would like the Empire to change."

Lafiel thought about that quietly for a while. "That makes some sense. But I think there is one thing you are forgetting."

"What's that?"

"The Abriels will still be ruling the Empire. If it does change, then we will make sure it changes in the way we wish."

Jinto smiled and raised his glass. "I wish you luck."

"Thank you." They clinked glasses and drank. That was a habit Jinto had successfully taught her, it was not something the Abh normally did. _And maybe I'm a little piece of the conspiracy without even knowing it. I'd better not even suggest that._

"Tomorrow we can be loyal and dedicated again," Jinto announced. "But we promised ourselves we would waste time today, didn't we?"

"Indeed we did. The Regiment graciously lent us their pool for the entire day so we should make the best of it. Shall we go swimming again?"

Jinto grinned. "I was thinking we should try the diving boards next. Maybe they'll let me play with the gravity while you're in free fall."

# # #

Lafiel slipped the nightdress down over her head and winced. That still hurt. She inspected the skin on her face and upper chest in the mirror, and prodded it gingerly. It was no longer red, but it was still tender. It was all due to an embarrassing number of... Now, what had Jinto called them? Tummy-flops or some such thing.

Lafiel walked out of her bathroom into the expansive bedroom, her bare feet luxuriating in the deep, warm carpet. The lights had automatically dimmed as the night hours approached. As expected, an attendant had left a steaming crystal cup of tea on the table. Lafiel sat down and instructed the computer to dim the lights further and make the window transparent. At the moment the side of the city that contained her estate was facing away from the other cities of Lakfakalle. All she could see was the starfield, the sun they orbited, and the loops of solar collectors which encircled the sun like ribbons. This was the only system in the galaxy with such an extensive infrastructure. The shipyards of the capital, too far to see with the naked eye, produced more ships every day and the collectors produced more antimatter to fuel them. The Abh had turned this system into a source of might the likes of which had never been seen. It was a single vast machine ticking like a clock, a factory which produced victory.

But who is going to produce more Abh?

It was Lafiel herself who had explained to Jinto what the Abh considered to be the three great callings of their lives. First, to be a pilot in the Space Force. Second, to be a trader. Third, and most importantly, to be a parent. Leave it up to Jinto to come back and remind her of this at such an awkward time. _How many of us will even live to be parents? Will I? Will Jinto?_

This place had always been the very picture of stability to her. Even when she was old enough to understand that it had not always been here, that the Abh had built it all with their own hands and their own will, she had seen it as the very foundation of her world. But more and more it seemed to her this place was the center of a maelstrom that was spinning out of control, like the eye of one of those great cyclone storms that would sweep across the surface of a lander world, flattening everything in its wake.

Lafiel sighed. Jinto was right, she really needed to relax more. It was just like her to focus on the one sour point in what had turned out to be a very interesting day. Okay, admit it, a very enjoyable day. There, she said it. Are you happy now, Jinto? I can have fun with the best of them. Nobody defeats an Abriel, certainly not you. Anyone who thinks we are just cogs in a machine is sadly mistaken.

Lafiel shook her head. "Whatever am I thinking?" The same thing she was always thinking, that she had to prove herself. To Jinto, to her father, to her crew, to everybody. Was that the end in itself for her, or was it just her duty to an Empire that might change beyond recognition right before her eyes? Was it just a way for her to earn the right to waste time when she wanted to?

It was just like Jinto to fill her head with half-baked nonsense and expect her to sort it out for him.

She listened to the rest of Seelnay's message. It was not without interest. Being with the girl was always much like being licked on the face by an over-enthusiastic kitten, but despite her bubbly personality she was a very capable technician making a valuable contribution to the construction work in the Hyde territory. She was Lafiel's vassal, but because Lafiel had invested heavily in the Hyde territory Seelnay was there assisting Samson in the construction of the antimatter production plants. Jinto had conceded to a deal with the government in his home world that pretty much made it impossible for him to draw any income from the planet itself, so antimatter production was just about the only way to obtain income from his territory. His actions had been too strongly influenced by sentimentality, but in her heart Lafiel could not bring herself to blame him. They were his people, he just wanted them to be able to forge their own path within the Empire.

Her wristband lying on the bed stand sounded the emergency alarm, and a moment later the room alarm did likewise.

Lafiel rushed to her desk, shouting "display message!" as she ran. The text message came across her screen. All forces in the capital were at first stage battle alert. Her squadron was scheduled to launch in... _Twenty minutes?_ That could not be right. "Give me the bridge of the Frikov!" Who was supposed to be the officer on deck right now? She could not remember.

Wing Flyer Gunomuboshu appeared on the screen, sitting in the command chair. _Oh dear._ Yes, she had given him a shift as bridge officer, which for a ship moored at the capital should have been utterly routine. Thankfully he appeared to be in only a mild state of panic. "Commander!" he wailed. "Thank goodness! They told us to be ready to launch in..." he glanced aside. "Nineteen minutes! But we don't even have a skeleton crew on board! What's going on?"

"Calm down, Wing Flyer. I just received a summons, which means the entire crew will have done so. Wait for Chief Engineer Gurinshia to arrive, she will direct fueling operations. In the meantime just call the dock control office and get them to connect and pressurize all four of the boarding corridors. There will be a lot of people boarding in a very short time. I'll be there in no more than fifteen minutes." Hopefully.

"Yes, Commander." The Wing Flyer seemed to be averting his eyes while trying not to make it look like he was. This reminded Lafiel that she was wearing her favorite silk nightdress.

"Carry on." She stabbed the disconnect button angrily. If this was a drill then she hoped that someday a bureaucratic error would have the perpetrator dragged screaming to the legendary Abh prison planet of Hell. There was an incoming call from Jinto. She switched to audio-only. "Jinto, you've heard?"

"Yes," came his pleasingly calm voice. "I've already asked the household staff to have your shuttle ready, figured you'd be busy making calls. I'm headed to the airlock now."

"Thanks, so am I." She just put on her underwear, wristband and tiara, grabbed a uniform and boots and ran out into the hallway. To hell with it, it was nothing he hadn't seen before. Mostly.

The inner airlock door was opened. She leaped in and slammed the button that closed the inner door and opened the outer. She squeezed through it as it was opening. The small passenger compartment of her private shuttle was empty. "I'm here!" She shouted.

"Hi Lafiel," she heard Jinto's voice from the cockpit. She looked through the doorway to see him sitting beside the pilot. He waved without looking. How gallant. She closed the airlock hatch and a moment later heard the shuttle detach. No longer in such a mad rush, she took her time putting on her uniform and boots. When she was done she poked her head into the cramped cockpit. "What's our ETA?"

"Ten minutes," the pilot said.

"Four whole minutes before the launch time," Jinto said dryly. "Hardly even exciting."

"Any other news?"

"Other than 'First Stage Alert' and 'Launch Yesterday' not a thing."

Lafiel quietly fumed. A launch order without a destination meant to just take up default defensive positions around the local base and await orders. It was normally done when a base faced imminent attack and there literally was no time to put together any defense plan. But this was the capital! Had the enemy found some Gate into Plane Space they did not know about? The Gates anywhere near the capital had all been charted centuries ago.

The docking bay was pure pandemonium. Lafiel managed to get to the bridge a full two minutes before the ordered launch time. Upon seeing her Gunomuboshu leapt out of the command chair as if it were red-hot. Lafiel returned his salute. "Report, Wing Flyer."

"The Chief Engineer began fueling five minutes ago."

So they would be about five minutes late launching. Better than she had expected. "And the crew?"

"We've already arranged to rendezvous with three shuttles between here and the rallying point with the remainder of the crew. We are currently operational on skeleton staff."

"Well done. You are relieved. Please take your position at the secondary weapons station."

"Thank you, I stand relieved." And she had never seen anybody look so thoroughly relieved in her life.

She at least had her full bridge crew when they launched. It was the first time she had the luxury to think beyond the immediate task of getting her ship out of its dock. She took the silver chain dangling from the side of her tiara and plugged it into the command chair's comm slot. Instantly the space around the ship was projected onto her mind's eye just as if she were immersed in a 3D map of local space. She had expected to see an overcast of friendlies as every warship in the capital region was scrambled. But in fact there were just a few squadrons of cruisers, frigates and assault ships heading out to the rallying points. The alert covered the entire region, but the launch order had been very selective. What in Hell was going on?

"Commander, squadron commander Atosuryua is signaling to prepare for a broadcast message," communications officer Yateshu announced.

"Let's have it on the main viewer."

A minute later the flashing standby message on the viewer was replaced by the face of their squadron commander. Atosuryua had a serene, triangular face, dark blue hair and almond-shaped brown eyes. She smiled pleasantly. "This is the squadron commander to all ships of the First Devastator Squadron," she announced. "Please continue to the rallying point as ordered. But you may stand down from battle alert. We have a long journey ahead of us before we get anywhere near an enemy.

"The current information I have is that the Empire has been attacked by the Federation of Hania."

Next Chapter: The Silent Enemy

**Chapter 2 - The Silent Enemy**

Hurry up and wait. That was the motto of every army since before gunpowder.

The bridge of the Frikov was quiet. Only half the stations were manned, making the mildly cramped command center seem a bit more open. Jinto had started his shift doing a bit of miscellaneous inventory work. But he only managed to drag that out so long. Right now there literally was nothing to do.

His gaze settled once again on the unchanging image on the main viewer. It showed their hastily assembled expeditionary fleet arrayed around them in formation, moving together through Plane Space at the speed of the slowest ships, the cruisers. Mobility in Plane Space was based on a very simple equation: your maximum speed was inverse to your mass. Bigger ships moved slower, period. It had nothing to do with how big your thrusters were. Each ship or group of ships generated a bubble of three-dimensional space around them. In Plane Space each bubble was effectively an elementary particle with a fixed spin rate. If your spin axis was parallel to Plane Space, you moved across it like a billiard ball rolling across a table. Turn the spin perpendicular and you stopped, spinning in place.

Jinto found it disquieting to think that all the ships in their fleet were like a bunch of electrons flying through space, and the display in front of him was rather like a cloud chamber that made those electrons visible as little vapor trails. The detectors that scanned Plane Space automatically turned the raw data into coded icons identifying the space-time bubbles by mass, or in the case of friendlies by IFF signature. He saw icons representing their own squadron of frigates, the larger cruisers, and the smaller assault ships and escort ships. There were no battleships since they would have forced a slower maximum speed and it was felt that speed was of the essence.

Jinto looked over to the command chair where Deca-commander Ekuryua was sitting still as a statue, looking at nothing in particular. As executive officer of the ship she was officer of the deck when Lafiel was on her rest shift. Technically since they were not on battle alert Ekuryua could have passed the duty on to another officer, but Jinto had never seen her do that. Like Jinto, she had served under Lafiel on the assault ship Basroil, and had volunteered to follow Lafiel to her new command. Ekuryua was a short Abh woman with a cute heart-shaped face and straight dark blue hair that came to a gentle curl under her ears, all of which should have made her look even younger than Abh always do. But her invariably expressionless face somehow gave her the impression of age, which was a source of speculation about the secretive woman. She could be two hundred years old as far as anyone knew, but she was not telling.

Jinto knew what his own motivation was for following Lafiel to the Devastator Squadron. Very soon after he had met Lafiel he had decided to be with her until the end of his days, in whatever capacity she would accept him. He had been happy to be accepted as her friend. But in Jinto's estimation Ekuryua was not friendly with anyone. Unless you counted Jinto's cat, which she doted over. He had trouble imagining what her motivation was for anything. Thinking of the most immediate motivation, she had been sitting there for a number of hours and might be thirsty. As junior officer on deck, it would be courteous for Jinto to bring her something.

Except that Jinto found Ekuryua sort of scary. He suppressed a sigh. Okay, once more into the breach. He got up and walked over beside the command chair. "Deca-commander, can I get you something to drink?"

She glanced over at him with her disquieting expressionless eyes for just a moment then resumed staring into space. "I would like to have some fresh Passion-fruit cocktail," she deadpanned in her soft, high voice.

"Oh. I'm quite sure we don't have any fresh Passion-fruit on board, we left the base only stocked with the standard non-perishables."

"I did not say I expected you to get me fresh Passion-fruit juice, I merely said that is what I would like to have had."

It was odd how every conversation with Ekuryua felt like a cross-examination. "I'll be sure to requisition some Passion-fruit at our next port of call. In the meantime was there anything else I could get you?"

"No."

Best to just cut bait. "Okay." Jinto turned to leave.

"Have you done something to upset the commander?"

Jinto froze and looked at Ekuryua, taken aback. She never spontaneously asked questions. "What makes you think Lafiel is upset?" He asked carefully.

"After leaving the capital she has been unusually melancholic. You were her house guest so I presume she spent her day off with you."

"Well, yes."

"What did you do?"

"We just went swimming."

"Swimming? You mean you took a bath together?"

"No, of course not!" His raised voice turned some heads. "It's not bathing, it's swimming" he continued in a more modulated voice. "We do it for fun on my home world. Lafiel and I went to a proper military facility. We wore proper military issue bathing attire at all times."

"I'm not your chaperone, you don't need to spell it out."

Oh yes I bloody well do. "We had an enjoyable day, so I don't know what she would have to be depressed about." But now Ekuryua had him worried. He had seen little of Lafiel in the past couple of days other than at staff meetings. The ship commanders and flag officers were busy getting their new fleet into some semblance of order.

"I see. Nothing else?"

"Well..." Jinto sensed a trap but saw no way out.

Ekuryua raised a slim eyebrow. "Yes?"

"We were talking a bit about how the war was going. I said that I wonder how many of us are going to live long enough to be parents."

Absolutely nothing moved in the room. But the level of tension spiked. It looked like this time he had really done it.

Ekuryua leaned her chin against her palm and regarded him coldly. "I would have thought you have served in the military long enough to know how insensitive that was."

Jinto never thought he would be getting sensitivity training from Ekuryua. "I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing to me?"

"Because I feel sorry and you're here."

"A very convenient answer."

Jinto took a deep breath to calm himself. He came to attention. "I will take responsibility for my error and will rectify it at the earliest opportunity, Deca-commander," he said formally.

"Very well. Carry on."

"Yes, commander." Jinto resumed his seat. Chalk up another crash and burn. But he did remember to add Passion-fruit to the requisition list.

# # #

A frigate was essentially a pocket cruiser which was missing the mine laying capability of normal cruisers. Its prime virtues were a higher cruising speed in plane space and higher mobility in normal space. To maximize those virtues, mass and volume were kept to a minimum. So the meeting room where the senior officers of the Frikov awaited their commander was not exactly cramped but could charitably be described as making efficient use of the space. Jinto was usually the one who ended up serving drinks in this room, and he could just do so without bumping into anyone.

"I've just been told the commander's shuttle has docked," comm officer Yateshu announced. He detached his tiara's chain from his chair's comm port, having received the message they were waiting for. Lafiel had spent the day on the squadron's flagship conferring with the other ship commanders, and had signaled ahead to convene a meeting with her own staff.

The door behind the head of the table slid open and Lafiel entered. They all stood and saluted in unison. She returned the salute and stood in front of the chair at the head of the table, which was their cue to remain standing. As usual she opened her meeting with a minimum of preamble. "The relay ship we rendezvoused with yesterday has brought us the first detailed reports from the border patrol squadrons which have been engaging the Federation forces. Thanks to the intelligence they have sent we now have a much clearer picture of what has been happening."

She placed a data crystal into a slot on the table and touched a button. The featureless surface of the table resolved itself into a map of local plane space. Jinto always found it tempting to think of these maps as showing the Milky Way Galaxy seen from directly over the disk of the spiral galaxy. But he knew that was mistaken. Though it was always shown on flat maps like this, Plane Space wove its way through normal space in an unimaginably complex fractal pattern. Mapping between the two spaces only had any meaning at all around the billions of Sords which served as the only gateways between the two. Normally a Sord was just an elementary particle that tended to hover at the edge of star systems, but when energy was applied to a Sord in just the right way it became a Gate into plane space. Travel through plane space was so much faster than through normal space that the relative positions of star systems in normal space was all but irrelevant. It would take far longer to go to the nearest star through normal space than to cross the galaxy through plane space.

The map Lafiel had brought showed most of the Kuryuuvu kingdom of the Abh empire. This kingdom did not share a border in plane space with any of the Triple Alliance. It only shared a border with the Hania Federation, in fact it was practically surrounded by the region of Plane Space that was claimed by the Federation. Hania had been neutral in the war until now, that was why this kingdom of the Empire was so lightly defended and why this fleet had to be so hastily assembled.

Lafiel pointed to the map. "As you can see, the attack did not come from anywhere near the known settlements within the Federation, in fact it came from the other direction entirely. Their settlements are mostly around the galactic rim, but the attack came from the direction of the galactic core. Either they made a very wide arc through their own territory or they have bases near the galactic core that we don't know about. Based on the size of forces we have seen and their estimated supply requirements, we suspect the latter."

In the part of the map Lafiel pointed out, Jinto could see at least thirty Gates that had been marked as either contact lost or confirmed overrun by the enemy. Each Gate led to an inhabited star system, with anything from small space settlements to inhabited planets. So at least thirty systems in the Empire were now in the hands of the Federation. Jinto found that astonishing. The Hania Federation territory was extensive but in total it only contained about twenty widely scattered inhabited systems that they knew of.

"We have identified at least six fleets advancing in parallel. Each fleet appears to be approximately the size of a Space forces half-fleet. Best guess is that each of these six fleets consists of a battleship squadron, a cruiser squadron, three assault squadrons and assorted support ships, presumably including escort ships. We have only received reliable reports from the more recently attacked systems so we are unsure how much forces they are garrisoning captured systems with as they advance. Best guess is that they are keeping garrisons to a minimum and advancing with close to their full strength."

Lafiel looked around the room. "These forces amount to far more than we had given the Federation credit for. Naturally, fleet command suspected these are actually fleets moved from the Triple Alliance and that Hania has allowed them to use their territory as a staging ground to open up a new front." Jinto nodded, and so did others. That made sense, the Federation was part of the same Nova Sicily treaty as the three members of the Triple Alliance. For reasons of their own they had simply declared neutrality when the current war started.

Lafiel shook her head. "But that appears not to be the case." She touched a button on the table and the map was replaced by a series of images of ships. They were mostly grainy and some were blurred. Many had obviously been taken by gun cameras during a battle. "All the ships encountered so far have been either known Federation designs or new variants on those designs." She touched another button and a series of ship schematics came up. Like all the officers Jinto had been hastily getting up to speed on the known Hania order of battle, something nobody had expected ever to do. He recognized all the ships he was seeing. But parts of the schematics showed in red where there were variations between what had been seen in this battle and what was known of Federation ship designs. Some just had weapons systems added or replaced, others looked like they had more extensive modifications. In fact there were a surprising number of different variations. It was like the fleet had been scraped together from a collection of various prototypes.

"There is one final aspect of this attack which was a factor in deciding upon our countermeasures. As yet, no enemy ship has initiated any communication, responded to any challenge or asked for surrender. As far as we can see they simply enter each Gate in force, destroy any forces that oppose them and proceed to the next nearest Gate in their path, advancing as rapidly as they can. We have little idea what their intentions are or what they are doing behind their lines and we want to find out as quickly as possible. When our fleet arrives we will certainly have local superiority of force, but we are not sure by how wide a margin that is."

She brought the map back to the tabletop. "Tomorrow the fleet will refuel at this base. It is the most forward base that we are sure we can reach before the enemy does. We will be joined by the reserves of the local defense fleet, which includes a battleship squadron. The combined fleet will proceed with best speed to liberate the nearest occupied system. This will be done even if we learn of nearer systems being attacked. Further action will be dictated by what we find there and how the enemy reacts."

The tabletop went blank. "Fleet command has also decided on some matters regarding the fleet integration and plans for the upcoming assault. We will need to review these, so please be seated."

When the meeting was done, Jinto lingered until everyone but Lafiel had left. He asked her if she would like him to make her a drink, which was their cue to retire through the door at the other end of the meeting room into her quarters. The Commander's quarters on the frigate were not the cramped affair she had on the little assault ship, there actually was a nice little corner where they could both sit in armchairs. Jinto poured them both glasses of brandy from a bottle that had actually been a gift from him, a Martine brand he had introduced her to. Alcohol had little effect on Abh, but they still appreciated the aesthetic quality of good liquor. Jinto just had to make sure that she never caught on to the concept of a drinking contest, otherwise he would be toast.

"At times like this, do you understand why I feel like a billiards ball sometime?" Jinto asked.

"I think I can. It seems the course of our lives is being directed by people far away making incomprehensible decisions."

"Our new fleet not shaping up as hoped?"

"No, not that. A lot of these units were just formed and their commanders have no experience, but that is true of any new fleet these days. I'm thinking more of the incomprehensibility of lander thinking. No offense."

"None taken" Jinto said happily, completing their old running joke. "I'd have to agree they've really outdone themselves this time. It looks like suicide by peace officer."

"Cultural reference," Lafiel correctly identified from long experience.

"That's where a suicidal person gets a weapon, threatens people with it and provokes peace officers into killing him."

"Please tell me that is not a common practice anywhere you have lived."

"No, it's very rare. But that's what this feels like. If the Empire really got serious we could easily send and supply a force three times this strong in very little time. Maybe we already are."

That was a distinct possibility. This fleet was essentially a vanguard sent out at top speed with minimal instructions, so there had not even been time to get any update from the capital. Their commander-in-chief, the Imperial Admiral, might very well decide to divert other resources even before hearing news of the vanguard's first clash with the enemy. "This would only make any sense at all if it were coordinated with a general offensive elsewhere. But drawing out their main force is exactly what we have been hoping for. Surely they can see that, can't they?"

"Sorry, nobody here but us billiard balls."

Jinto was wondering if this was a good time to broach the subject he had really come here to discuss when Lafiel's face suddenly took on a very serious expression. "Jinto, you're not depressed about your current circumstances are you?"

Jinto blinked. How had she stolen his line? "No," he said tentatively. "Why do you ask?"

"I was just thinking back to our conversation by the pool. It's not like you to be thinking about things like whether you will live to be a parent. I have trouble enough getting you to think past your next meal. When death is looking you in the face it is all you can do to keep from falling to pieces, but the next day you won't give it a thought. I can't help feeling that you've changed."

"Are you saying I shouldn't think about the future?"

"You know what I mean."

Jinto nodded, becoming more serious now. "I'd be lying if I told you I'm not anxious about whether we'll survive this war. But I'm not the only one, you know. In fact I was gearing up to ask you the same question."

"I asked first."

Jinto could not look into her eyes and lie. "Yes, I've been thinking about the course of my life more seriously these days," he said softly. "But no matter how long I think, one thing is absolutely clear. I would not trade the time we have already spent together for the longest lifetime ever lived. If I die tomorrow, in that last moment I will still regard myself as one of the luckiest men who has ever lived."

Lafiel regarded him with an unchanging serious expression. "You will forgive me Jinto, I have asked you a very selfish question."

"May I ask one in return?"

Lafiel nodded. It was understood he did not even need to ask. "I too consider myself to be very lucky. All the more since I have met you. Whether I die tomorrow or two hundred years from now, I will know that I had many reasons to be proud and to be grateful. Being your friend is among the best of those reasons."

"I'm honored. And very glad to hear that you are not depressed."

Lafiel's expression changed in an instant. "Well of course I'm depressed!"

Jinto just froze. He managed to stop himself from blurting "You are?"

Lafiel closed her eyes momentarily and sighed, as if she were confronted by a child who refused to understand a most elementary fact. "Jinto, if the fates forbid you ever have your own ship one day then you will understand that becoming part of a new fleet is much like being adopted into a new family. You are suddenly among strangers whom you know nothing about and have no idea how they will react, yet you must put your life in their hands and theirs in your hands. We are in a fleet that did not even exist a few days ago. How could I not be depressed? Oh, what are you grinning about now?"

"Being depressed about transitory conditions is very healthy, at least you can do something about it."

"Every now and then you manage to say something sensible. I might yet succeed in cramming some common sense into that head of yours."

"Please don't give up on me, coach."

"Idiot."

# # #

"No IFF signature" Deca-commander Ekuryua declared in her calm but crisp voice. "Assumed to be hostiles."

"Acknowledged," Lafiel said from her command chair. "Bring us to first stage battle alert."

"First stage, aye."

_First contact,_ Lafiel thought. _Okay, let's see what you do when there's a whole fleet bearing down on you._

The fleet was deployed as five groups advancing in parallel across plane space, wide enough that it would be difficult to flank them and near enough to support each other. At current speed they were four hours out from a Gate called Thermopylae 243, currently thought to be the most forward position taken by the enemy. If the enemy were still occupying the system this is about where they would expect to find enemy patrol craft. Which appeared to be what they had found. The two widely spaced blips at extreme sensor range had just come close enough to identify them as the size of small cruisers. Again, exactly what they would expect to see. They were ships with long enough range for extended independent action but with enough speed to outrun pursuers. They were too far out even for fast assault craft to catch them before they got back to the Gate.

"They are retreating at best speed," Ekuryua announced.

The expected orders soon came. The frigates of the First Devastator Squadron spun up to full speed and pulled ahead of the central group of the main fleet. They were soon joined by two assault squadrons and an escort squadron which pulled alongside and matched speed. The new group would be moving fast enough to keep in contact with the retreating space-time bubbles presumed to hold enemy cruisers going back to the occupied Thermopylae system. Now there would be more waiting. As usual, that was the worst part.

In three hours the Gate came into detection range. The enemy blips disappeared into it, presumably to warn their comrades of the approaching fleet. They had not even bothered to drop mines. The number of mines two cruisers could drop would be unlikely to do much against the combined laser batteries an entire escort squadron. Lafiel tapped the arm of her chair rhythmically. Soon they would find out the enemy's intention: fight or flight.

It was not long before they got their answer. When they were half an hour from the Gate a swarm of new space-time bubbles erupted from it. Lafiel's heart beat faster during the minutes that it took the new hostiles to organize. Emerging from a Gate going in either direction was always chaotic, each ship might emerge in any direction from the center of the gateway. When you turned yourself into an elementary particle, your motion was governed by quantum uncertainty.

The enemy fleet moved away. They had chosen to run. "I guess they're going to order us in" she heard Jinto say. He sounded mildly depressed, which as he had pointed out before was probably a healthy thing. But as things stood it was less likely they were in for much of a fight. If nothing had emerged from the Gate then they would have waited for the rest of the fleet to form up under the assumption that the enemy waited around the Gate in the Thermopylae system in ambush. The battleships would have swamped the Gate with mines before the assault ships and cruisers rushed through.

Jinto had called it. The order came, the Devastator squadron would go in accompanied by the escorts. The ships got into formation. Minutes away from the Gate, Lafiel activated the ship intercom. "This is your commander speaking. We will soon be going through the Thermopylae Gate. Up until now it has gone down by the numbers but don't make any assumptions about what we will be encountering. It appears the enemy has abandoned this system but be ready for anything. Whatever we are facing, you know that we have faced worse and came out victorious. We will do so again. That is all." They were an experienced crew now and really did not need to be reminded of these things, but she felt it was wrong to take that for granted. She was very proud of her crew, they deserved to know that they were always foremost in their commander's mind.

Ekuryua counted down the time to the Gate. Lafiel glanced around at the bridge crew. Everyone was calm but focused. When her XO called thirty seconds Lafiel stood and drew her command baton. "Gunners, remember that at the moment we cross we're on our own. If you see something on top of us don't wait to be told, just shoot it!" Those were dangerous orders to give, but not if you really trusted your people.

They made the transition to real space. As usual, the profound change in their frame of existence came with no noticeable side-effects. The switch back to three-dimensional space was announced by the main viewer switching from a view of plane space to a radar map of normal space. A very, very crowded map.

"Multiple contacts! No IFF!"

"Incoming mines! Firing lasers!"

"Incoming assault ships! Firing cannon!"

"Enemy cruisers! Launching nukes!"

"EM jamming! No friendly contacts!"

The enemy fleet here was at least the size of the one that had fled. Probably larger. They were clustered closely around the Gate and it looked like every single one of them was aiming at her ship. Enemy mines and assault ships exploded close enough to make the electromagnetic shield complain. The ship lurched as the electromagnetic cannon sent two thermonuclear warheads out to the nearest enemy cruiser. The first missed and detonated harmlessly, the second struck home. The struck ship's collapsing antimatter engine briefly transformed the ship into a tiny sun. The Frikov's sensors shut down but so would the enemy's, if only briefly. "Max thrust!" Lafiel shouted. "Get us away from the Gate!"

They had been in normal space for ten seconds now.

The Frikov rocketed through the enemy formation. They were more tightly packed than she had even thought. What sort of formation was this anyway? As she had hoped, getting up close and personal made them pass by too quickly for the enemy to line up major weapons. They just traded laser fire, which was little more than a tickle to the armor of a capital ship. Two of their escort ships had pulled alongside the Frikov without even being asked. Their commanders had thought quickly. It had been found that frigates and the little escort ships supported each other very well. That is, until one of them was hit by an enemy antiproton cannon and exploded. Then their own ship lurched violently twice in succession. "We took antiproton fire from assault ships," Jinto said. "Two port laser cannons down, no hull breach."

"Contact from the squadron commander!" The comm officer called. "She says to head for the planet!"

The planet? That had been the furthest thing from Lafiel's mind. They were just a couple of light-seconds from the system's inhabited planet. The orbital stations were silent, presumably destroyed, but there were IFF signatures from the surface. The planet had not been bombarded, so their siege guns and missile batteries would be intact. That support was pretty much their only hope now, and a slim one at that. Lafiel ordered the helmsman to make it so. Her comm officer called out contacts with other ships in the squadron emerging from the zone of EM jamming. Amazingly, all were accounted for. But some were lagging behind, obviously crippled. They should have been dead, going through the enemy lines like that with limited mobility.

It was soon evident why they had not received more attention from the enemy. Even before her XO calmly noted the fact, it was obvious that most of them were heading into the Gate or preparing to do so. "Why are they running now?" Jinto was moved to ask.

"They're not," Ekuryua said. "Only a few ships went through."

"Bait," Lafiel said. "They'll look like stragglers who fought their way through us. Our fleet will go past and chase them. Then the rest of the enemy will emerge behind our fleet and surprise them. But it won't work exactly as they've planned. At least two of our half-fleets will be holding back to cover the Gate until we emerge with the all-clear. Their plan is clever, but not quite clever enough."

The squadron progressed slowly, to cover the crippled ships. The assault and escort ships had fared worse, losing almost a quarter of their number and another quarter damaged. With the enemy forces arrayed in defensive position around the Gate there was little their small vanguard could do but limp to the safety of the planetary defense grid. It was maddening, but it was the correct choice.

Soon after they came into orbit around the planet, the enemy departed. Atosuryua, who was in overall command of their little task force, decided to assemble the able ships and head back to the Gate. Now that approaching the Gate was no longer an act of suicide, they had a duty to reenter the fight. It was unlikely the fleet was in serious trouble, but their help might be needed.

By the time they did emerge from the Gate back into plane space, the enemy was in full retreat, more or less intact. What had failed as an ambush had succeeded as a rearguard action. Looking at the deployment of their fleet and the retreating enemy in plane space, Lafiel could instantly see what had happened. The enemy had taken advantage of the expeditionary fleet's exposed position to force a retreat of its lead elements, allowing the enemy to withdraw in good order. If that had been their original intent then they would have all emerged together. The enemy commander had certainly changed gears very quickly.

Whatever the shortcomings of the politicians who had ordered this attack, it was obviously being carried out by people who knew what they were doing.

# # #

Twenty days after the first clash, squadron commander Atosuryua had the satisfaction of looking down at the last liberated planet. It was a newly terraformed planet, still with not much green showing on the bare continents. Like all the others, it had been untouched by the enemy. The Silent Enemy as they had come to be called.

Her own ships were just small dots in the distance. Minus two still under repairs further behind the lines. They had been fortunate. The whole fleet had been quite fortunate after a couple of early debacles. Casualties had been light. But then again, they had been for the enemy as well. They had retreated steadily, but it had never been a rout. Through a series of feints they had always kept the Abh guessing, always avoiding being trapped, always offering resistance and slowing the advance but always avoiding a decisive battle. It had been a textbook perfect withdrawal. Utterly pointless as far as anybody could see, but textbook perfect.

Her chief-of-staff entered the observation deck of the Admiral's flagship. Sobash was an androgynous Abh man with short dark blue hair and a ready smile. He wore his advanced years with wit and charm. She had come to like him very much in the four years he had been with her squadron. He came up to join her standing by the wide window. "The report from the surface garrison command was just distributed."

"Have you looked at it?" She asked.

"I just skimmed it. Seems to be the same old story. They came, they blew up the orbital forts, they stuck around for a while, they took some antimatter from the local collecting stations, and they left just before we got here."

"And of course they never said a word," she completed for him.

"Not a thing. You would think we are fighting an army of deaf-mutes."

"Even deaf-mutes can read and send text messages. We are just fighting people who really don't want to talk with us."

"At least they did not overstay their welcome, so they are not altogether without tact."

Atosuryua laughed. "They left without even saying good-bye, I call that tactless." They both gazed out the window in comfortable silence. At length Atosuryua gave voice to a gnawing thought. "Sobash, were you ever in a campaign where not a single prisoner was taken?"

"It's unheard of. Inevitably there are crippled ships or escape pods that surrender or are boarded. I know our squadron has not taken any, but surely somebody did."

"I sent an inquiry to the Admiral's office yesterday. They confirmed, not a single prisoner has been taken."

Sobash considered that quietly for a moment. "I do recall at least one report of our ships asking an enemy ship crippled in normal space to surrender. That was back when we were still even bothering. Almost immediately the enemy ship's antimatter engines detonated."

"I've heard a couple of other stories like that from other squadrons. Their crippled ships never even send out any escape pods. It seems so incongruous. In all other ways they fought a very careful campaign. One instance I could pass off as a damaged antimatter containment field. But it really looks like they did not want to be taken alive."

"Some of the elite United Mankind units are pretty hard-core fanatics, we almost never get surrenders from them."

Atosuryua shook her head. "This doesn't feel like that at all. These commanders have moral courage, they held where they could and yielded when they had to. Fanatics don't fight like that."

Another companionable silence was interrupted by both their wristbands beeping. Atosuryua just let Sobash check his. "The delegation from the capital just docked."

"Then let's go find out what they've got to tell us. Maybe they can shed some light on these damnable shadows we've been chasing."

The flagship's small assembly room was nearly filled to capacity with the squadron commanders, their aides and the flag officers. A harried looking Abh man Atosuryua did not know approached the podium. He wore the uniform and insignia of a kilo-commander in the intelligence service.

Sobash leaned close. "Ever met an intelligence officer who had any?" he muttered. Atosuryua shushed him.

The officer introduced himself and launched straight into what sounded like the recitation of a prepared report. "Through diplomatic channels with the Federation of Hania we have been able to gain some insight into the recent attack here in the Kuryuuvu Kingdom. To understand this I need to give you some background information. For over a hundred years now we have been aware of a program in the Federation government known as the Black Budget. Put simply, the Black Budget is a set of military research programs whose exact nature is only known within very select elements of their civil government. We only have a general idea of the scale of the program, and that is at best an estimate. We knew very little about it until very recently.

"Very soon after the attack a very high-level delegation of diplomats from the Federation arrived at our embassy in the established neutral trade port between the Empire and the Federation. They requested audience with the Emperor. They were escorted to the capital and given the opportunity to speak. Put simply, they told us exactly what the Black Budget program is, in great detail."

A barely audible muttering went through the audience. Atosuryua was rather taken aback herself. She had expected a very long-winded report full of generalities and evasion, the usual mix of semi-intelligence and guesswork. But he was getting to the point with astonishing speed.

A map of plane space appeared on the wall behind the lectern. "The Black Budget supports a secret military base in the Vensath system, as indicated here." There was more muttering. The place indicated was in Hania space about halfway between the border with the Abh Empire and the impassable galactic core. More to the point, it was a perfect staging area for the attack that they had just finished repelling.

"This base was originally set up as a research station to develop ships that can venture further into the galactic core. But the program soon grew to conceal an extensive set of other military research and then a shipbuilding program. In short, it was producing a secret fleet. It appears that two years ago there was a coup among the leadership of this base. Speculation is that it was taken over by a faction of the military that favored entry into the war with the Empire. The Vensath base broke off contact with their bases at the Hania capital. The civil government was not even aware of this until after the attack took place. They did not deduce what happened until members of the Black Budget committees in the Hania capital were arrested and interrogated."

At this point the officer's expression became even more smug. "Needless to say we viewed this story with some skepticism. To back up their story, the Hania delegation handed over to us what is essentially all the records that their civil government could gather on the Black Budget on such short notice. It includes very detailed records on the research and the buildup. They have offered their full cooperation in hunting down the conspirators, including free access to their territories toward the galactic core."

He summed up with what for the intelligence department was a miracle of brevity. "There are some anomalies in their story. The main one is, we suspect the civil government knew of the coup some time ago and lacked either the ability or the will to do anything about it. But we think the essentials of the story are true and that we should proceed on that basis."

The intelligence officer withdrew and Admiral Halben stepped up the lectern. "I would lose face if I took more of your time than our colleague from the intelligence branch, so I will be brief." That got a chuckle from everyone. "As well as this information we have also received our orders directly from the Imperial Admiral. With agreement from the Federation we will be occupying the neutral trade-port in force. We will also be occupying a small system in their territory called Thracia." It came up on the map, a point near the border with the Empire and about midway between the cluster of inhabited systems of the Federation and their alleged secret base. It was in a perfect position to cut off any line of communication between the alleged base and the rest of the Federation. "Also with their cooperation we will be conducting patrols deep into their territory. But we have no intention of sticking our necks out. Until we have further information we watch and wait. We are taking up their offer of sending observers to monitor their further investigation into this alleged conspiracy. We will be assigning officers from within this fleet in the near future. You will be given details on what we have so far and we will pass on more as we get it."

The Admiral's face became stern. "If anyone here thinks we are being overly generous with the Federation then they should consider the consequences if we had to invade and occupy the Hania Federation. They have common borders with all three members of the Triple Alliance. Rather than a buffer zone it would become a new border to be defended and a possible path of incursion into the Empire. If we can avoid that we will. But if it turns out our friends in the Federation have been leading us by the nose..." He grinned. "Well, some of them might live long enough to regret it. Now, my aide will explain how we will be redeploying the fleet and the reinforcements that have recently arrived."

The Admiral's aide spoke longer, since she had to show in detail how the fleet would be distributed. Major elements were being moved to the trade port and to Thracia. But the bulk of the fleet, including the Devastator Squadron, would be deployed among the recently liberated systems and nearby neighboring ones as well, setting up regular patrols across the intervening Plane Space where the attack had passed through. So far, after the liberation of the last systems there had been no contact from the enemy. The Abh did not venture across the original border, and it seemed that for the moment the Silent Enemy was not inclined to do so either.

When they were dismissed there was a great deal of animated chatter as people filed out of the room. Sobash was remarkably silent. Atosuryua did not speak until they were back in the privacy of the observation deck. "Sobash, are you buying any of this?"

"Not without some very solid collateral I'm not."

"Me either. I would feel a lot better if somebody I trust is there to take a very good look at what these folk in Hania are doing. I'd like to volunteer some of our people for this investigation of theirs." She smiled. "Somebody with a bit of experience in dealing with eccentric landers."

She was very surprised to see a look of profound anxiety come across her aide's usually placid face. "Commander, you must know how she would feel about being sent to a lander world."

"I am aware of her unfortunate experiences. But I had no intention of sending her alone."

Sobash considered that for a moment then smiled. "You know, I think that might work."

# # #

Chief Inspector Camin Laroc wove his handmade stirling-engine convertible between the bubble-shaped electric rental cars that made their way swiftly along the raised roadway that led into the Federation Government district of the city. It was a crisp spring morning with just a few high-altitude clouds spread across a beautiful blue sky. His was the noisiest car on the road, but even his custom car's engine and tires were within noise regulation, so he could easily hear the calling of the migrating geese flying overhead. He began whistling a tune, happily reliving fresh memories of his night out and looking forward to the day ahead.

Inspector Laroc passed through the checkpoint of the Investigation Bureau building and parked the car in his spot underground. The elevator took him up to the thirtieth floor, where the interrogation rooms were. He passed through the second security scanner and found his nervous-looking assistant waiting for him in the hallway. "Morning Johan. Sorry I'm a bit late, it was a long night." He was in fact more than half an hour early, but for him that was unusually late.

Johan nodded knowingly. "I'll bet. Do you ever sleep?" He came up beside Camin and they both walked down the hallway.

"As little as I can. So is my date with the Minister still on?"

"Yes. His lawyer has called three times since yesterday."

"Do we care?"

"Not any more. The announcement came an hour ago, constitutional rights have been suspended for all Federation government bureaucrats."

"Sweet." Camin's palmtop chimed. "Excuse me." He reached into the inside pocket of his overcoat and pulled out a pad quite a bit larger than the ones most people used. He read the brief message and chuckled. "Just a text message from my wife." He noticed Johan peering over and hit the off button. "It's nothing for your virgin eyes, sonny."

"I can't figure you two out. You had your silver anniversary years ago and you're still acting like newlyweds."

"You just have to marry the right woman is all. Same room as before?"

"Yes sir." They came up to one of the identical windowless doors that lined the spartan corridor. The display beside the door confirmed that the Minister was waiting inside accompanied by the peace officer who had escorted him here.

"We'll let him stew for a bit longer, there are some things we need to discuss first." He found that meetings went faster when they were conducted in places where there were no chairs. Johan had the early shift that ended around noon so he brought Camin up to speed on recent developments in the investigations. He summarized the results of three other interrogations and a couple of search-and-seizures. Camin made notes of points to bring up during his upcoming interview with the Minister. It looked like this was going to be a fun one.

Camin palmed the door open and walked in briskly. "Top of the morning to you, Minister," he said cheerily. He took off his coat, hung it up in the corner of the room and plopped himself down in the comfortable armchair that waited for him. He grinned at the minister sitting awkwardly on a little stool on the other side of the table. The obese, balding man just glared at him. He looked as if he had not had much sleep. It might have had something to do with the phone that had kept ringing outside his cell all night, though nobody could prove that.

"Has my lawyer called?" The Minister asked gruffly.

"Three times. I hope you're paying him well, he's really going beyond the call of duty."

"I'm not saying anything more until I can talk with him."

"Oh really? They never tell me anything, I wasn't aware that they had taken your communication privileges away."

The Minister of Defense looked at him suspiciously. "What do you mean?"

"If you still had your notepad I would have thought you would be keeping up with current events, at least reading the news feeds." He activated the palmtop that he had tossed onto the table. "There was a particularly interesting item, too. Ah, here it is." He read. "Today the President announced that constitutional rights are being suspended for all federal bureaucrats. He said that the move was justified due to the need to have the current crisis resolved quickly. The extent of the conspiracy within the Defense Department was so broad that the widest possible net needed to be cast. The danger of bringing the Federation into the war was so serious that it would be irresponsible to do any less." Camin looked up at the Minister's panic-stricken face. "It goes on about suspending civil oversight of police procedures and so on, but you get the idea." He leaned back. "You know, this just came out so I really haven't had time to think about the implications. It really does open up some new opportunities. One of your former constitutional rights was protection from rendition. For instance, suppose the Abh government thought that you were responsible for the unprovoked attack against the Empire and demanded that we turn you over to them. Yesterday I couldn't have done that."

The Minister sputtered for a moment. "You wouldn't dare!"

"Now what was the name of that planet of theirs? You know, the one where they send people who have really pissed them off. Yeah, I think they just call it Hell." He shrugged. "Anyway, enough of that for now. Let's get back to what we were talking about yesterday." He brought his notes up on the palmtop. "We were talking about your financial records and I really have to say it looks airtight. We were sure we would find that some Black Budget money had found its way into one of your... My my, your twenty-three bank accounts. But every single transaction looks legitimate."

Camin looked back up at the Minister, who was starting to sweat a bit in the air-conditioned room. "Minister, did I tell you that before I started up with the federal bureau I was in the vice squad for a few years? Working there sort of gave me a different perspective on what it is that people really crave. I mean, money is sweet, but it's just a means to an end, isn't it? People can give you nice things without giving money. For instance, somebody gave you a membership into that really nice club, the Blue Lagoon. We raided the place yesterday." Camin watched the subject's face. He could see that the time was right. "It seems that certain other people were brought to the private rooms you booked. Now, it's been a while since I was in vice, but..." He brought a picture up on his palmtop, turned it around and pushed it to the Minister's side of the little table. "I'm pretty sure she's well below the age of consent."

The subject broke down and cried. That always made Camin's day.

# # #

Altogether it had been a productive day for Chief Inspector Camin Laroc. The past few days had been a circus but things were finally starting to come together. Breaking the Defense Minister had been a real coup. He had named names which Camin was able to cross-references with some of the dozen other investigations that were happening in parallel. They were just starting to get glimpses of the big picture now. The Black Budget had been a cash cow for the military that was beyond anybody's worst nightmare. The total budget was almost as large as the regular Star Fleet itself, and it all got funneled into that base way off in the middle of nowhere. They now had command logs, production schedules, order-of-battle, everything. Even personnel lists, all the people who had gone there and were presumably still there. Lots of traditional old-guard military families were represented there, especially among the senior officers. The base had long been self-sufficient, they must have really come to believe that they had their own little empire.

And then two years ago the base just stopped communicating. Ships sent there from a Black Budget program base near the capital never returned. The Black Budget directors and commanders had nobody they could talk to about this except each other. So they just spent two years variously wringing their hands or bailing out or lining their pockets. Then this week the shit hit the fan and the feds came knocking at their doors.

Camin finished dictating his report and glanced out the floor-to-ceiling windows of his corner office. The sun was about to go down and clouds were just starting to gather. Should still be nice to drive home with the top down tonight.

His desk video phone chimed. On the other hand, maybe not.

It was the General Director's face that appeared on his screen. "I'm glad I caught you, Camin. Can I see you in my office?"

"Sure thing boss." The Director's office was two floors up. He did not stand on ceremony where his senior staff was concerned so Camin just opened one of the double carved oak doors and walked in. The Director's taste was very baroque, the spacious office was covered with dark carved wood, red curtains and shelves full of redundant leather-bound books. He already had Camin's favorite drink waiting on the glass table. That must mean he wants something. Camin sat down on the other armchair.

The Director got right to the point. "The relay ship from the embassy just entered the system a while ago. There was a message for me from the ambassador's office. The Abh have taken us up on our offer of a joint investigation into the Black Budget affair."

"Well I'll be damned." Nobody had quite known how the Abh were going to react to that one. They had accepted the other concessions made by the Federation, including the occupation of the trade port systems. But so far nothing about the investigation.

"I'll read you the memo delivered to the embassy by the Abh," He activated the little screen in the chair's arm. "We accept joint control over the investigation into the Black Budget affair. We will be sending a representative of the intelligence service and two Space Force officers to the embassy. We expect them to be met by a senior investigator of the Federation Investigation Bureau who is directing the Black Budget investigation. We further expect the complete cooperation of the Investigation Bureau. End of message."

"Short and sweet, like always. But what does 'joint control' mean?"

The Director smiled. "Whatever they want it to mean."

"That's what I thought."

"We don't even know when the Abh are sending these officers, for all I know they could already be waiting at the embassy. The ambassador is really anxious to expedite this."

Camin looked at him seriously. "And I assume that's why I'm here."

The Director's face sobered. "I won't belabor the point. Of the chief investigators I have working on the case now you're the obvious choice, really the only choice. Nobody else has ever worked with them or even speaks Baronh."

"That was years ago, sir. And I wasn't dealing with their diplomatic mission. I was just dealing with civilian Abh merchants, helping us catch the smugglers who were robbing them."

"I know, that actually is another reason to be sending you. In addition to this message the Abh also sent us information on who they would be sending from their intelligence bureau." The screen on Camin's chair arm lit up and showed a short dossier of an Abh officer, including a picture.

Camin laughed. "They're sending _her_? Hell, why didn't you say so?"

# # #

Squadron commander Atosuryua sighed and looked up from her desk to the two officers standing at attention before her. This was not going as well as she had hoped. "I have no intention of explaining myself any further, Hecto-Commander."

That just seemed to make Lafiel even more angry. "You are proposing to send us into enemy territory unarmed. I think we deserve more of an explanation."

"I have already explained why what you are saying is inaccurate." And she really thought she had explained herself very thoroughly, convincingly and diplomatically. They were to accompany an intelligence officer to a diplomatic mission into a neutral country that had already given them everything short of unconditional surrender. The Hania government had every reason to make certain that they were safe. But somehow she was not getting through to the girl.

"We don't know whether or not the Federation is an enemy and we won't know until the investigation is complete, that is my point! They could still betray us."

"You know perfectly well how unlikely that is. You will be safer in the Federation than you are on the bridge of your own ship."

She could see that Lafiel knew Atosuryua was right. It looked like the frustration was killing her. "My supply officer is not part of the combat division. It would be more appropriate for me to be accompanied by a trained guard."

Atosuryua just spared a glance to Jinto. He had not spoken a word since the squadron commander had summoned the two of them here. He really looked worried that things were spinning out of control. "This is not a military mission, I already explained that."

"Then why does it need military personnel?"

"You just contradicted yourself Hecto-Commander. A moment ago you were requesting a guard in place of your supply officer. I am not going to repeat myself. Your behavior is now bordering on insubordination."

"Are you really trying to get us both killed?" Lafiel shouted.

Atosuryua regarded her coldly in complete silence. Very slowly, she came to her feet. "Hecto-Commander Abriel Lafiel, I would like to believe that those words were spoken in haste."

It took several seconds for Lafiel to visibly get herself under control. The effort was making her sweat. Gradually, her trembling stopped. "My words were spoken in haste, Commander," she said in a carefully modulated voice.

Atosuryua could see the shame in the young woman's face. It pained her to see it. She had hoped that the tragedy which connected them had been left in the past, but now it hung over them like a shroud. Atosuryua really had done everything she could to prove that she felt no grudge over the death of her brother. Atosuryua knew that her own actions had proved that. And it seemed that Lafiel knew that too. The words really had been spoken in anger.

Jinto stepped forward. "Permission to speak, commander?"

"Granted." Atosuryua could see that Jinto was directing attention from Lafiel to give her time to cool down. His formality was also intended to comfort, it was something the Princess was used to. She hoped Lafiel really understood how lucky she was to have such a devoted friend.

"I understand and accept the reasons we have been chosen for this duty. But frankly I find the specific orders rather vague. It is not clear to me exactly what we are expected to accomplish."

Atosuryua was relieved to be discussing something concrete. "To be perfectly honest, you might not need to accomplish anything other than being visible. Your very presence sends a message to the Federation that we expect them to account for what has happened. It also sends a message to our own Space Force." She smiled, now addressing both of the young officers with her eyes. "I don't need to tell you that the intelligence service is not held in high esteem by many members of the combat arms, especially in light of recent events. The perception is that they cannot collect useful information unless the enemy willingly hands it to us on a silver platter. It is important that respected officers in the Space Force be part of this mission."

She sat down. "Having said that, I want to emphasize that you should be letting the intelligence bureau liaison take the lead in this mission. I have carefully read the dossier of this officer and have made my own inquiries. She has a great deal of experience with investigative work and with working within the Hania Federation. She is very highly regarded by her superiors and by others outside the intelligence bureau. I would not be trusting my officers' lives to her if I did not think that she was capable and that the prospects of her mission were favorable."

"I see." Jinto smiled. "I look forward to working with her."

Atosuryua glanced over to Lafiel. The Princess still looked troubled, but she nodded. "I am happy to accept this mission, Commander," she said curtly.

"Good. I am grateful to you both. The Admiral told me he would like the liaison officers to leave on tomorrow morning's regular relay ship. Hecto-Commander, will that leave you enough time to properly transfer command of the Frikov to your XO?"

"Yes, commander, that will be more than enough time." Lafiel replied.

Atosuryua smiled. "Very good. I haven't left you with much time so I'll let you go make preparations. I look forward to your return." They saluted and left the room. Atosuryua collapsed into her chair. "That was more tiring than chasing elusive phantom ships has been."

A few minutes late Sobash entered her office to find her still sitting there. "I did warn you she would take it badly."

"I think I did make one mistake. I should have sent her with a guard instead."

"That would have been worse. She worries more about him when he is not at her side."

"Yes, of course you're right. The Admiral was very happy at my suggestion. It's just so perfect, an angry Abriel and an agreeable lander-turned-nobleman who are always at odds with each other and utterly devoted to each other. The Hania investigators will be running in circles trying to keep them happy."

"They might have more trouble wondering what to make of our intelligence liaison."

Atosuryua smiled. "Yes, she does have a colorful reputation. It's bound to be interesting."

# # #

Even after knowing Lafiel for eight years and being at her side for five, getting the timing right was tricky. Too early and it would just flare up again. Too late and it would have been simmering for too long, waiting to explode. And the situation had to be right, not in the place where she could use formality as a shield and not in the place where the informality made her uncomfortable. And needless to say, the venue had to be strictly private. The trick was to understand that she wanted to apologize, but he had to go fishing for it.

Shortly before they were scheduled to leave the Frikov, Jinto showed up at Lafiel's quarters and rang the chime. The door slid open and Lafiel regarded him with a slightly puzzled expression. "You're early. And what are you doing with that?"

Jinto smiled and raised the cage he was carrying. His orange tabby cat Diaho stared out at them from the cage. "We're both going to be handing things over to Ekuryua. You're handing over a ship and I'm handing over a cat. I thought we might as well go there together and kill two birds with one stone."

"I've already handed over the ship, but there's no harm paying a courtesy call. Why don't you come in for a moment."

Lafiel had some small sculptures on display in her room. She was in the process of putting them in their protective cases and packing them away. She was putting away the last one as they talked. "I've been following the news feeds from Hania city," Jinto said. "We're front-page news, they say you'll be the first Abriel to set foot in the Federation."

"Yes, I've heard. I have the disquieting feeling that we are going to be put on display."

"If we are going to be involved in the investigation then I doubt that. The whole thing now falls under their Official Secrets Act. Probably nobody can even see us without the government's say-so, and that means our say-so."

"I still feel like a decoration. I can see the value of our presence, but ultimately this is theater. We are there to be seen, if only by select people."

"At least you won't have to shake hands with any politicians, they don't have that custom."

"That's good to hear." Lafiel came to sit down beside him. She absently put her finger next to the cage, which Diaho took the opportunity to smell and paw at. "I suppose I should try to take this mission seriously. After all, we are trying to bring very serious criminals to justice. The people we fought were clearly very fine soldiers who carried out their duty with courage and skill. To have such people taking orders from traitors is unforgivable."

"I really hope we won't need to fight them again."

"We must try to prevent that, Jinto."

Jinto felt that the time was right. "Yes, I want Commander Atosuryua to be able to say that we were well chosen."

Lafiel was silent for a while. "I wonder if she regrets her decision already."

"No, I don't think so. She knows that you trust her."

Lafiel stopped playing with Diaho and regarded Jinto intently. "I do trust her, Jinto. And I'm very fond of her. I just can't believe I turned on her like that. What was I thinking?"

"You were thinking you didn't want me going down to another strange planet," Jinto said gently.

Lafiel sighed. "I've embarrassed you in front of our friends again. I promise I will learn to stop doing that one day."

Jinto took her hand. "I think that will happen around the time that I stop making you angry with my constant stumbling."

That got the smile he had been hoping to see. She squeezed his hand back. "It sounds like you just promised me you will learn to stop stumbling one day."

"How likely do you think that is?"

"I think I am going to be catching you when you fall for a very long time."

"You know you can depend on me to do the same, don't you?"

"Yes, I do."

They were silent for a while. Before long, Diaho started calling out to them as if wondering why nothing was happening. "I guess we had better get going," Lafiel said.

It was a short walk to Ekuryua's quarters. She was in her uniform even though she was not currently on duty. Probably because she was expecting a visit from her commanding officer. "We'll be leaving now," Jinto said. He raised the cage. "Please look after him for me."

"I always do," she said simply, taking the cage.

"Thank you for looking after the Frikov in my absence," Lafiel said.

"I will do so. Please have a safe journey," Ekuryua said politely. Her gaze shifted to Jinto and her expression hardened. "Vanguard Flyer Jinto!" She snapped.

Jinto snapped to attention. "Yes, commander!"

"It is your responsibility to bring our commander back safely, I expect you to carry out your duty without fail."

"Yes, commander."

Lafiel looked between the two of them as if she were expecting something to happen. At length she cleared her throat. "If there's nothing further, we will be taking our leave."

When they were some distance down the corridor, Jinto relaxed a little. "Well, that was different."

"What have you been doing to upset my XO like that?"

Jinto chuckled nervously. "I'm not sure, but I think it's because I wasn't able to get her any Passion-fruit."

Next Chapter: Hania City


	2. Chapter 03 & 04

**Chapter 3 - Hania City**

Most inhabited star systems had a single Gate leading into Plane Space. But having two was not uncommon. In their closed form Gates would be attracted by the gravitational pull of stars, but were repelled by solar wind, so they tended to congregate at the edge of star systems. With so many billions of them, most stars were likely to have one or two hovering around them. When opened by bombarding them with energy, the Gate became a gateway to Plane Space. However they might wander through normal space, the Gate always opened to the same region of Plane Space. So two nearby Gates could open onto two different regions of Plane Space. Such was the case for the system Lafiel and Jinto were now approaching. One of its Gates opened into Abh space, the other into Federation space. So for centuries it had been a designated neutral trading port.

The relay ship now heading for the port was really just a long-range shuttle, kept as small as possible to facilitate quick passage through Plane Space. The cabin was comfortable enough, but the bucket seat also had to serve as the place you slept. It was not too onerous since the journey just took two days and a night. There were other Abh passengers, but they were widely scattered across the mostly empty passenger cabin so Lafiel and Jinto only ended up talking with each other and sometimes the cabin crew. The two of them mostly reviewed materials regarding the ongoing investigation and intelligence documents with what they thought people should know about the Federation. Jinto concentrated on reading the public news feeds from Hania city, he wanted to get a feel for public reaction to the scandal. There was a lot of fear, anger, paranoia and finger-pointing. Politicians of all stripes were competing to display the depths of their outrage and righteous wrath.

Jinto was having real trouble trying to explain to Lafiel how a democratic government worked. "The President has the power to declare war just like our Emperor does. But he can't order a buildup of the Star Fleet by himself. In fact he can't even order it to be supplied all by himself. Only the Council can divert government resources to the fleet."

Lafiel appeared to be scandalized by this revelation. "I'm having trouble even understanding who is really in charge. Who gives the order to invade?"

"The President gives the order. But if he does it without the approval of the Council and they don't like it then they can cut funding."

Lafiel looked at him as if he were howling like a monkey. "You mean, cut off the fleet from resupply in the middle of a war?"

Jinto shook his head. "No, no, it wouldn't be like that. Just the threat to cut funding would force the President's hand and he would have to order a withdrawal. The whole idea is that the President isn't even going to declare war unless he knows the Council is behind him."

Lafiel thought about that quietly for a bit. "I've been trying to understand the significance of their Black Budget. I understand the idea of a state secret, but now it appears to be something more. It's a way for the President to order a buildup of the fleet without the Council's approval, isn't it?"

"Yes, that's why a lot of people never liked it. But the President has been declaring innocence. He swears he never knew about the base at Vensath."

"I know that much. But that's the part of their story I find hardest to believe."

"Actually I don't find it hard to believe at all. Politicians at the highest level prefer not to even know all the messy details. So if the public ever finds out about any of these dirty little secrets they can declare outrage along with everybody else. They like to call it plausible deniability."

Lafiel shook her head in apparent bewilderment. "I am awed. It really sounds like a system designed by and for people who wish to shirk responsibility for their actions."

Jinto smiled. "They say people go into government work for that very reason. Not at all like the Imperial government, right?"

"I should think not."

The fun really started when they tried to figure out the judiciary branch of the Hania government and how prosecution of government leaders and officials might proceed. Jinto had taken basic civics in school in Martine and had done some reading on political studies in the years since, but in the end he was just as baffled as Lafiel. They agreed they would let it slide for now.

The cabin intercom announced that they were approaching the Gate to the trade port. For the passengers the transition would hardly even be noticed if they were not told. But one thing that the transition represented was the point after which you could exchange information with people in normal space. Relay ships always carried news feeds from their point of departure. So the moment they made the transition to real space, the ship automatically transmitted these feeds to receivers on the inhabited plants and stations. Similarly, any prerecorded messages from people at the destination intended for the passengers were relayed back. This was all done in a matter of seconds.

Lafiel and Jinto's wristbands chimed almost simultaneously. The ship's computer had automatically downloaded messages to them. The small screen on Jinto's armrest also displayed the message header. "Audio message from Hecto-Commander Okibe Kathryn," Jinto said. That was their liaison in the intelligence division. "Dated yesterday 15:34, addressed to us both."

"The same," Lafiel confirmed. By silent agreement Jinto slaved his chair computer to hers and let her play the message, since it was quicker for an Abh to interface through her tiara. "Greetings Hecto-Commander Abriel Lafiel, Vanguard Flyer Linn Jinto," said an animated, smooth contralto voice. "This is Hecto-Commander Okibe Kathryn, welcoming you to the frontier of the Hania Federation. I am sending this message mainly to confirm that you should disembark at the Imperial government mission in the port complex. I have arranged a guide to show you to rooms that have been made ready for you, since I'm sure you will want to freshen up and rest after your long flight. Our liaison from Hania is not due to arrive until tomorrow so please do not feel the need to hurry. If you please, I would like to make your acquaintance at your earliest convenience. So whenever you are ready for a meal or refreshments please contact me any time through the mission intercom. I will send someone to collect you and bring you to where we can have an informal meeting. May the Empire be victorious." A beep indicated end of message.

"It's nice of her to let us rest first," Jinto commented.

"Yes, that was very considerate." The mild surprise in Lafiel's tone implied she expected less. "I will acknowledge her message for the both of us. As a courtesy in return I think we should suggest a time to meet." It was already late in the day by universal time, so they just left themselves enough time for a brief rest.

The port was a pair of vast free-floating space cities linked together, one run by the Abh and one by the Federation. Each had its own ports, warehouses, residences and support facilities, and the two operated more or less independently. The only thing they needed to agree on was the design of the checkpoints and corridors which led between the two. Each side had their own rules regarding who and what could enter or exit those corridors. There had been several such ports in existence, but with the war on this was the only one left operating. And recently it had gained a new neighbor: the Abh fleet that hovered near their Gate. They were the first warships to enter this system in centuries. Jinto really hoped that this fleet's mission continued to be a boring one.

As promised, a member of the Abh embassy escorted them to a suite, which was two separate bedrooms and baths that opened to a common living area. Jinto went to change out of his uniform and have a shower, which was a relief after two days in a shuttle. He changed into the formal wear that was standard for Abh nobility. It was a white, billowing sleeveless robe that went down to his ankles. It had wide shaped shoulders and was held in place by a wide sash. Jinto had never liked the robe. Worn over the body suit that went with it, the outfit was hot and heavy and uncomfortable. He much preferred the Space force uniform, a simple blue and gray body suit. But it had been decided that wearing military uniforms in the Federation would be politically incorrect, so he was stuck with it.

Jinto wandered back out into the common living room. On the way in he had barely noticed the bouquet of flowers on the table, but now that he looked again there was a card attached. That was not something he had seen since his school days on Delktou, it was not something that the Abh did. Curious, he bent over and unfolded the card. It had a handwritten note in quickly penned but neat Baronh, the Abh language. "Welcome! I am looking forward to working with you. Kathryn."

There was a cute little cartoon drawn in the corner with the same marker. It was the face of a smiling woman with long wavy hair. There was a little heart-shape drawn beside it.

Jinto closed the card and stood up straight, not quite sure what to make of this. The lander part of him found this perfectly ordinary, but the part trying to assimilate Abh culture rebelled. An Abh would never have even thought of opening the floral-pattern card, assuming it to be part of a mildly unorthodox accessory to the flower arrangement.

Jinto somehow felt very exposed. He decided against drawing Lafiel's attention to this little message.

Lafiel emerged from her bedroom shortly before the appointed meeting time. Jinto refrained from any comments about how long it took women to get dressed. Her formal robes were practically identical to his own, the Abh did not distinguish styles for men and women, at least not in public.

At precisely the appointed time, the door chime rang. "At least she has chosen a punctual messenger," Lafiel was moved to comment. Jinto touched the panel in the entryway and the door slid open.

A short cat-girl in a pink dress smiled up at them. "Honored Guest Jinto and Honored Guest Lafiel?" She asked in a high voice with a slight lisp.

Jinto was the first to recover. "Yes, that's us."

"May I have the honor of escorting you to where Honored Guest Kathryn awaits?"

Jinto and Lafiel looked at each other. Her annoyed expression said this is obviously lander stuff, you deal with it. He turned back to the diminutive robot girl. "Yes, please do."

She bowed. "Transit time will be approximately ten minutes," she said cheerily. "Please follow me." She turned to walk down the hall. They followed behind.

"Did you read anything about this?" Lafiel asked in a low voice. She was referring to the standard primers on Hania culture which she had also read.

"Humanoid robot messengers, yes. Cat girl robots, no."

They passed through the checkpoint that led from the embassy complex proper out to the Abh-controlled section of the port. The furry little robot must have been from a certified business to pass in and out the checkpoint, and the Space force guard on duty did not give it a second look. It led them across a wide open space which was a typical commercial section of a large port. There were businesses, trade offices and services of various sorts along all the walls at two different levels. Most of the signs were in Baronh but a few were in the Hania alphabet. There was a fair amount of traffic, mostly on foot but the occasional personal electric transport. It was a mix of Abh civilians and landers. Jinto did not detect any overt tension. Despite recent events, for people traveling or earning a living it was business as usual. Two Abh in formal wear being escorted by a cat girl only earned a couple of curious glances.

Jinto was not sure what he had expected, but the entrance of the business the robot led them into was remarkably sedate. The sign looked elegant but was in Hania script so he had no idea what it said. The hallway they walked down was rather dark, mainly because the only light was what spilled from the rather remarkable walls. From the floor to a bit over eye level each wall was an aquarium where an astonishing assortment of different fish drifted among colorful coral. Above that was a glass-walled enclosure up to the ceiling, filled with a variety of colorful birds perched on tiny manicured trees. The pattern of aerie over aquarium was maintained along each wall as the corridor split. Looking through the aquariums Jinto could just glimpse people on the other side sitting around small tables. Jinto could hear the calling of the birds softly permeating the hallway, perhaps muted by the glass or piped at regulated volume through speakers.

The robot gestured down a narrower corridor formed by yet more aeries over aquariums and bowed with a flourish. Lafiel hesitated so Jinto decided to take the lead. He walked into a room surrounded by more aquariums and aeries where three large armchairs were arrayed around a small round table. A woman seated in one chair smiled and stood. Somehow he knew this was the woman who had drawn him that little self-portrait. From hints of un-Abh behavior and the unusual name he had been half expecting a lander with Imperial citizenship, and for a moment he thought she might be. She was quite tall, probably an inch above him. And the long wavy platinum hair that spilled over her shoulders had only a hint of pale blue. But there was no mistaking the features and the forehead mark of a genetically enhanced Abh.

Though he had never seen an Abh woman in a strapless red cocktail dress before.

The woman saluted. "Hecto-Commander Abriel Lafiel. Vanguard Flyer Linn Jinto. I am Hecto-Commander Okibe Kathryn. I've heard a great deal about you both. This is truly a pleasure."

Lafiel saluted. "A pleasure, Hecto-Commander" she said rather more formally.

"My pleasure," Jinto added, maybe just a little too enthusiastically.

"Please," Kathryn said, gesturing to the armchairs. They all sat down. "I felt certain you would accept my invitation. To be honest there are many who don't."

"I'm not sure I follow," Lafiel said.

"When I welcome people to the Federation I ask the club here to send out my favorite messenger robot to collect them. A surprising number of times people have flat refused to follow her here. Instead they try to contact me to ask what in blazes is going on, but," she spread her wristband-free arms. "As you can see, they fail and I end up drinking alone." She looked up and smiled at somebody entering the room. "Happily, that is not the case tonight."

A young lander man in a turban brought in a tray with three large snifters half-full of a milky liquid that was topped with small tinkling ice cubes. He set it down, bowed, and exited. Kathryn leaned forward and took one of the glasses. "This is my favorite local drink, I hope you like it." When Jinto and Lafiel had done likewise, Kathryn extended hers. "To friends past, present and future." Out of habit Jinto brought his forward and a moment later Lafiel followed suit. They clinked glasses and drank. It had a rich, creamy taste but also had some serious bite. Lafiel was the first to comment on how nice it was. Reading Kathryn's smile, Jinto had the feeling they had passed another test.

"Commander, I'm really hoping we will be able to help you with your mission," Lafiel said.

Jinto was a bit surprised. It was a very frank acknowledgment of Kathryn's leadership position. With two officers of equal rank from different services, that could have been a rather awkward issue.

Kathryn smiled with what looked like genuine gratitude. "Thank you, Highness. I am sure that you will. Both of you."

Jinto smiled. That bit of courtesy would go over well with Lafiel. "We've been trying to get up to speed on what has been going on here," Jinto said. "It's been a bit like aiming at a moving target."

"Believe me Excellency, you're not the only one who's struggling to keep up with events. That's why I want us in the capital as soon as possible. Assuming our liaison arrives tomorrow morning, we will be taking the same relay ship straight back. It's another two day journey I'm afraid, sorry to impose that upon you again so soon."

"It's not a problem," Lafiel said. "Will we be joining your staff at that point?"

Kathryn raised an eyebrow, as if surprised at the question. "No, my staff are remaining here. Just the three of us are going."

Lafiel looked very surprised. "This is an exceedingly complex investigation, Commander. I have difficulty imagining how the three of us can adequately monitor it, much less render assistance."

"My staff are analysts. I am the only field operative with much experience working in Hania." One corner of her mouth came up. "As you can imagine, Hania has not been much of a priority for the intelligence bureau. I myself am here only because years ago I specifically asked for the assignment. I used to be a dealer in pre-diaspora artifacts and I saw Hania as an untapped source. So I learned the language and started doing business here."

"That sounds like an unusual business," Lafiel said. Jinto had not even been aware there was an interstellar market in old Earth artifacts.

"It's not as romantic as it sounds. Mostly cruising markets, making inquiries and following leads that usually go nowhere. But it did keep me traveling a lot, and eventually I wandered here. The business was only a partial success, so joining the intelligence bureau was a good excuse to keep active here and do a different sort of work."

Kathryn's expression became a little less animated and she leaned forward, resting her hands on her knee, signaling that she was returning to more immediate business. "I know it appears odd for just the three of us to be going to the capital alone, but it does underscore one thing that I wanted to emphasize, Highness. The people of Hania are truly frightened. Their leadership has betrayed them in the worst possible way, and now they suddenly have a thousand Abh ships poised at their borders. None of us can regret what has happened more than they do, and none of us can be more anxious to uncover the truth behind the matter than they are. As we speak they are working very hard to do just that. I believe that, and I think that before long you are going to believe that as well. If nothing else, we need to make sure that the people back home believe that. We might be of some help to the investigators down the line. But for the moment we are beginners whom they are going to have to baby-sit, so the fewer of us there are the less disruptive that will be."

"That makes good sense," Lafiel agreed.

Kathryn smiled and leaned back again. "I don't want to give you the impression that I've got this all figured out. Our looking over the shoulder of a foreign investigation bureau is completely without precedent. There is little in the way of law or custom on either side to guide us, so we'll be playing it by ear. A lot depends on how well we get along with our liaison."

Lafiel nodded. "I understand. The last thing we want to do is to disrupt their ongoing investigation."

"Yes. But having said that, I don't want you to think we are rubber-stamping what they do. Keep your eyes and ears open. If there is anything you find questionable, say so. If nothing else, asking questions will be a learning experience for all of us, something we really need. We are doing information gathering, not diplomacy."

"I'm glad we aren't expected to be diplomats," Jinto confessed. "My one experience with negotiating a truce did not end very well."

"Ah, the Lobnas affair," Kathryn said. It did not surprise Jinto that she had heard of his attempt to negotiate peace on a captured prison planet. It had blown up in his face spectacularly, and he had nearly been killed. "I remember reading the briefs, it sounds like a fascinating situation."

Jinto ended up relating his side of the story in some detail. After a rapid advance through United Mankind territory, he and Lafiel had suddenly found themselves responsible for one of the captured systems, a prison planet with half a million prisoners. Jinto had gone down to the planet to try and sort out disputes about the roles and dispositions of the prisoners and guards within the empire. Things had got ugly and a major uprising lead to a planet-wide prison break. Jinto had been lucky to escape with his life.

"It sounds like a classic no-win situation," Kathryn commented. "The fates hand us those every now and then, all you can do is try and get out alive." She turned to Lafiel. "I take it that experience is why you were reluctant to accept this mission," she said.

Lafiel looked surprised at Kathryn's insight into her feelings. But she did not deny it. "Frankly, yes. Of course as Space Force officers we often need to put ourselves in harm's way. But space battles proceed according to rules that we are trained to deal with, so risk is always calculated. On a lander world I may not even know what the risks are. I found that out for myself."

Kathryn nodded. "Yes, when you're on somebody else's world your first assumption about the way things work could be your last. But from what I've heard I don't need to tell you that, you've had your own experience on a planet that went to hell."

It was Lafiel's turn to tell the story of when they first met. The warship she was assigned to had just picked Jinto up to take him to the Abh military academy he had been accepted into. Their ship was unlucky enough to be caught in the attack of the Triple Alliance. Lafiel and Jinto had to escape in a shuttle, and after their unfortunate run-in with Atosurua's brother ended up crash-landing on the planet Clasbul, which had just been captured by the United Mankind. They had to keep one step ahead of the occupation army until the Abh fleet recaptured the system.

As Jinto expected Lafiel kept the story short and to the point, she never really did like talking about it much. In particular she left out the part about her dying her hair, wearing a short dress and stuffing her pointed ears under a hat to try and blend in with the locals. It was a bit of a sore point for her, so he was not inclined to point out the omission.

Kathryn had some interesting stories of her own. The one Jinto found most interesting was an encounter with a reclusive collector she had been hoping to buy an antique sword from. He had a mountain retreat on a remote planet in the Hania Federation, which he almost never invited anybody to. Kathryn had tempted him with a vase she had seen him express interest in on the networks, and they arranged a meeting. His mansion was only accessible by private flyer, so she had to rent one. The old man had insisted the two of them do negotiations in a room with no communication or database access. In the process, he had offered her some alternate items in place of the sword, some of which from memory she had known were stolen. She politely declined any transaction, and would have left except that her flyer would no longer function. Putting two and two together, she decided the best course was to escape during the night. She had spent days in the jungle, eluding hunting parties and just trying to stay alive. For an Abh it was the most alien environment imaginable. By the time she emerged from the jungle into the nearest town she was near starvation.

Her grin had a predatory quality. "My detailed testimony on the items he showed me led to his place being raided. A year later he was convicted of smuggling and his entire collection went on public auction. I managed to pick up the sword for a lot less than he wanted."

"It was a lot of trouble to get an antique sword," Jinto said. "Did you want it that badly?"

"It's a Samurai sword, used by the warrior caste in pre-industrial Nihon. That was an island nation off the coast of Asia on Earth. I've always been fascinated by that country since it was where the creators of the Abh migrated from. It could be said that our creators were trying to revive the old Samurai creed, or at least live by their perception of it. In a lot of ways Nihon is the proto-culture that the Abh Empire arose from."

"Commander, with respect our creators lived in a space city of their own construction," Lafiel said. "They would have borne little resemblance to a pre-industrial culture that existed centuries before they even migrated from Earth."

"There is greater continuity than you might think. It shows up in little ways, from the way we dress to the way we prepare our food. You see it even more in art, not the specifics but just the aesthetic sense. The Abh emphasize fixed forms as constraints within which the artist is forced to work. Many forms of art in Nihon showed the same approach. It's probably more obvious to me because I've spent much of my life hunting through artifacts on many different planets and I see the differences."

"After all your travels, being confined to space cities must be boring," Jinto commented.

"It would be if I just stayed there. But that's the beauty of the Empire. In any domain within its border, you just have to go down to one of the planets and suddenly you're in an utterly different place. The Abh world is like the surface of a deep ocean, most of us know little of the depths just below our feet. We may rule Plane Space, but the spaces in between work according to their own rules."

Jinto was happy to ask her more about her travels in the Empire, but Lafiel seemed to be a bit pensive. She contented herself with mostly just listening.

After a while the same waiter brought in a very curious tray. At one end was a large open glass jar with several odd little fish swimming rapidly about. They were flat and moved by rippling the edges of their bodies. At the other end of the tray were a burner and jar with some thick liquid.

"I told the club that if we were still here by this time they should bring us a midnight snack," Kathryn explained.

"Midnight?" Lafiel checked her wristband. "I had lost track of time."

"We should turn in soon, but I thought this would be a fun way to end the night. I'll show you how to prepare them, it's very simple. The boiling marinate seeps in and softens the cartilage they use for a skeleton, so you can eat them whole. The trick is..." She picked up a set of the chopsticks and clicked them together playfully. "You have to catch one first."

# # #

The morning came all too quickly. Jinto met Lafiel at the shared entrance of their suite, and they made their way to the scheduled meeting with the commander.

"You were rather quiet last night," Jinto commented.

"The Commander gave us a lot to think about," Lafiel replied. "I kept wanting to turn it into a formal briefing and ask more specific questions, but I could see that was her intent. I felt a bit off-balance, not certain what to expect from her."

That sounded like a polite way for Lafiel to tell him that she found Kathryn's behavior eccentric. "I think that was part of her intent, to impress upon us that we should expect the unexpected and be ready for anything."

Lafiel nodded. "That makes sense. I get the impression she never does anything without some very deliberate intent." They walked in silence for a while. Then Lafiel glanced toward him tentatively. "Jinto, do you think she wears revealing clothes to gain a psychological advantage over people?"

"I suppose there are circumstances where that could work."

Lafiel made an irritated noise. "I wonder if she will expect me to do the same."

Jinto saw a golden opportunity, but he slapped that thought down hard and fast. "If you mean something like what the Commander was wearing last night, that is very unlikely to be what any woman in Hania would wear while at work or on duty. I think you're safe."

Lafiel looked relieved. "Altogether I was pleased by our meeting with the Commander, she appears to be both competent and conscientious. Hopefully the meeting with our liaison will go as well."

Kathryn was waiting for them near the small passage to the Federation city that was reserved for diplomatic personnel. She was now dressed in a formal white robe of a cut identical to theirs, but decorated more plainly as befitted one who was not of the nobility. She saluted and greeted them warmly. "I just received confirmation that our liaison arrived with the morning ship and is waiting for us at the Federation embassy." That meant he was just at the other end of the corridor Jinto could see on the other side of the manned checkpoint behind the commander.

"That is good news," Lafiel said. As they walked down the plain, narrow corridor Jinto reflected on how this idea of news arriving with a ship was one part of life in the Empire he found rather ironic. Before it had been discovered by the Abh, his home planet of Martine had been isolated and had essentially been his whole world. Anybody in the world could reach anybody in seconds, and everybody heard any piece of public news at the same time. But in the Empire news traveled at the speed of the ships that plied plane space.

The checkpoint at the Federation end was manned by two polite men in the turbans and sashes which were the ubiquitous formal wear of men in Hania. They transmitted encrypted data grams to the Abh wristbands which would immediately identify them to any peace officers as diplomats with full immunity. This was something they already knew would happen. They passed through into a large reception room that Jinto was surprised to see was lavishly decorated with plants, flowers and vines. He knew the people of Hania loved their gardens at least as much as the Abh did, but this was surprising. That he noticed in passing because his attention was focused on the three men waiting for them. Two were older men in turbans and more elaborate suits, no doubt senior diplomats. They stood with hands folded and wearing politely neutral expressions. The third one was dressed in casual shirt and slacks and was grinning from ear to ear.

"Camin!" Jinto nearly jumped at Kathryn's exclamation. He glanced over to the commander. She had brought her hands up involuntarily to a face that was animated with unabashed delight. She walked rapidly forward. "Camin Laroc! I don't believe it!"

The man in casual dress rushed forward to meet her. "Hi Kathy! My God it's great to see you again." They embraced tightly among a lot of laughter.

The commander held the man at arm's length and gazed fondly at him. "It's been years! I thought you must have made chief inspector by now, I guess I was right."

"Six years ago, and now smack in the middle of the case of the century," he replied.

Jinto took this all in with stunned silence. He noticed that the two Hania diplomats were just as flabbergasted as he was. For a moment he had thought he was seeing two lovers reunited, but that really was not the chemistry going on between these two. It was more like long-lost family showing up out of the blue.

The commander steered the man around so that they were both facing Jinto and Lafiel. She still had her arm around him, and was grinning like a happy schoolgirl. "Highness, Excellency, this is an old friend of mine, Camin Laroc. And if they haven't already made him our liaison then I'm correcting that as of this moment."

"I've already been volunteered," the man named Camin said. He extricated himself from Kathryn's hold and faced the two Abh in front of him. Jinto got his first really good look at the man. He was quite a tall man, and very trim. His handsome features were marred by heavy lines indicating late middle-age, but his friendly smile made them line up into laugh-lines. He had short dark hair with some gray at the temples. "Your Highness, Your Excellency," he said, looking at each of them in turn. "I am Chief Inspector Camin Laroc of the Hania Investigation Bureau. I have been appointed to be your liaison in the Vensath investigation. Welcome to the Federation. Feel free to call me Camin or Inspector as per your custom, I really don't stand on ceremony."

The two Hania diplomats took this opportunity to step forward and things briefly got a bit more formal. In the process of getting welcomed and briefed and escorted to their transport, Jinto managed to share a quick private glance with Lafiel. His little smile was met by her raised eyebrow, which exchanged their shared reaction. _That was different._

The Hania relay ship was a smaller model than the Abh one, emphasizing speed. That made sense since the Hania systems opened on Gates that were widely scattered across their region of Plane Space. But they had the cabin to themselves and most of the passenger seats had been removed to make more living space, so it would be comfortable enough. They swiveled four of the seats to face each other and sat down.

"Inspector, have you worked with our commander before?" Lafiel asked.

"In a manner of speaking. In my early days as an inspector with the Bureau I was on a smuggling investigation that eventually led me to the neutral port. We suspected it involved insiders in the Hania port authority so we wanted to set up a sting operation. I tried getting cooperation from some Abh traders who were working on the Hania side, but they were mostly reluctant. Kathy was the exception." He grinned. "Not just to be nice, mind you. In exchange she wanted me to look into an item of hers which she had reported missing in transit to the port but was getting the bureaucratic run-around over. To make a long story short, eventually we got our smugglers and she got her property back."

"After that I always looked up Camin whenever I was in Hania city," Kathryn said. "But I haven't had a chance to go back since the war started. I had been thinking this would be a chance for me to go visit with him again." She reached over and squeezed his arm playfully. "And here he shows up practically on my doorstep."

"Then this is a lucky coincidence," Jinto said, meaning it. Having their liaison be an old friend of the commander struck him as being a major coup.

"Not entirely," Camin said. "Our general director knew that I had elected to learn Baronh in school, which was one reason I had been sent to the neutral port years ago. And he knew about my working with Kathy before, so when we learned she would be heading your delegation that pretty much decided matters."

"And I take it you have already been involved with the investigation," Lafiel said in a way that suggested she was expecting to be told more about his role.

"The General Director himself is heading the investigation, as you would expect considering its importance. He has assigned eight Chief Inspectors including myself to direct various parts of the investigation. I have been focusing on the money trail looking for Black Budget funds being diverted to private accounts. Of course that in itself is a serious enough crime, but we are more interested in getting our hands on the embezzlers and talking with them so that we can get a feel for how much people on this end knew about the coup on Vensath. With your approval I'd like to start by giving you a general idea of where that's taken us."

With that they got down to business. During the day they were only interrupted by the transition to Plane Space, and then by regular breaks where the two flight attendants brought them meals and refreshments. Camin described his findings in a very clear, precise manner. He had a phenomenal memory for detail, when asked questions he would almost never need to refer to his notes. In just a few hours Jinto felt he had a much clearer idea about the progress the investigators had made.

At the end of the day when they were all relaxing together with drinks, Camin asked Lafiel for her impressions. "I am of two minds," Lafiel said. "I am impressed by what you have uncovered about the buildup at the Vensath base. You have cut through a very large web of secrecy with remarkable speed. But at the same time we have very little idea about what exactly happened there after you lost contact two years ago. I find that very troubling."

"The more we look, the more it appears that everybody on this side of the Black Budget organization was completely blind sided by that," Camin said. "We have been focusing on interviewing personnel who were rotated back from Vensath shortly before contact was lost, in hopes that they either noticed something happening or had been part of it, but so far that has gone nowhere. You have to understand that the Vensath base itself was kept very compartmentalized. Various departments doing different sorts of research, base construction and shipbuilding were isolated from each other and from the actual fleet organization. Only flag officers knew much about the entire base. That is why we think it was flag officers who pulled off a coup."

"It's going to be difficult trying to confirm that without actually capturing the Vensath base," Lafiel said. It was understood that was something they wanted to avoid, since it would preclude maintaining even the impression of Hania neutrality.

"I've been thinking of taking a different approach," Camin said. "A lot of the top brass at the Vensath base are from families that have had people in the Star Fleet for generations. Many of them have family currently serving in regular Star Fleet units. Just before I left I got my staff to arrange interviews with them after I get back. I thought that monitoring these interviews would be a good way to show you what we have been up to."

"Oh, good," Kathryn said brightly. "I always loved to see the way you make them sweat. Highness, Excellency, you're in for a real treat. You're going to be seeing an artist at work."

She and Camin shared a mischievous smile. "I'll be bringing in some help," he said. "An old school buddy of mine joined the forces about the same time I went into the police. He's not real hard-core military, he just put in his twenty years of active service and went into the reserves. He started off as military police and ended as an advocate general. He's a real bulldog and knows his way around the Star Fleet organization. If they're hiding something, he'll get them to talk."

Soon the cabin attendants came to bring blankets for their couches and turn them into reasonably comfortable beds. They put out the lights and slept. Jinto woke quite early the next morning. The cabin was still darkened, but he could see that Camin and Kathryn had moved to chairs at the other end of the cabin. Under a soft light they spoke in low voices. He could not hear what they said, but from here it sounded friendly and casual.

He looked over to see Lafiel sleeping soundly under her blanket, in the couch beside his. He had not seen her sleeping face since she had got out of the habit of falling asleep at the desk in her quarters. When he had to put her to bed he had thought how cute she looked when she was asleep. Some things never changed. He thought he saw her eyes move a bit under her lids. Dreaming? He'd never asked her if she remembered any dreams, or if the genetically enhanced Abh ever did. If so he could understand their not talking about it, his own dreams were usually the same nonsense about showing up for work naked. Probably best to leave that as another Mystery of the Abh.

He dozed off just on time for the lights to come on and the ship's intercom to announce the beginning of a new day.

# # #

Lafiel sat in a darkened room beside Jinto, watching the interview through a large one-way glass. After three days of this she was beginning to understand why they observed the room in this very odd manner. Occasionally she would see the interviewees glancing nervously at the large mirror surface behind the interviewers. They must surely know that somebody was on the other side watching them, but they had no idea who. It could be the General Director of the Bureau, or their own superior officers. For all they knew it could be the President of the Federation. And they did know there was a good chance they were being observed by a member of the Abriel royal family, rulers of half the galaxy. It appeared to be rather effective.

The current interviewee held a rank in the Star Fleet that as she understood was equivalent of kilo-commander. He was the younger brother of an Admiral who had disappeared two years ago along with everyone else in the Vensath base. Today Kathryn had joined Camin and his Advocate General friend at the table. Triple-teaming him, as they called it. He seemed very eager to tell them about every misdemeanor he or his brother had committed from the time he was six years old to the last time they had met. He sat nervously in his chair, his palms on his knees, occasionally rubbing sweat off.

Unfortunately, like all the others so far, as yet he had very little of interest to say.

"I'm almost starting to feel sorry for him at this point," Jinto commented. "He looks just about ready to cry."

Lafiel shook her head, still watching through the glass. "I do feel sorry for him, but not because of the interrogation."

"Oh?"

"He really has no idea why his brother might have betrayed the Federation." She looked at Jinto. "For two years they had been told that their kin were on an extended classified mission, and now this happens. None of them have any idea what happened to their family so far away, so they don't know whether to grieve or feel ashamed."

Jinto nodded. "They've been telling us that these are families that have been in the Star Fleet for generations. Somehow I had expected them to be more... I don't know, hard-core I suppose. They don't see what happened as a blot on the pride of the Star Fleet, it's just their brothers and sisters and fathers and sons gone missing."

"Yes, exactly. I had expected something different. At the least I expected to see a feeling of pride in their service, a pride which had been grievously wounded. But to them it is no different than if somebody in their family had been kidnapped. I am really surprised. But the truth is we should probably not be surprised at all."

"Why is that?"

"For a long time we have known that there were many problems in the Federation Star Fleet. They have a top-heavy chain of command and many disciplinary problems. Their fleet has never been in a major battle since it was created. The Federation took control of this region more or less by default, because it was sparsely settled by them and nobody else. The fleet was created as a grudging concession to the need for defense. Our intelligence service has always judged it to be barely capable of defense against even a small attack, much less capable of mounting a major offensive. From what I have seen over the past three days, I think that even they were being too generous."

Lafiel looked down at the screen that had been holding more of her attention than the interrogation being piped in through the room speakers. Jinto saw that she was looking at a ship schematic. "The ships which invaded the Empire were clearly the ones that were constructed at Vensath. In some cases we can even identify individual prototypes. But we are to believe that they were manned by soldiers who came from the same stock as the one sitting before us." She shook her head. "These are not the people we fought, Jinto. They can't be."

"They had two years to be whipped into shape," Jinto pointed out.

"But whipped by whom? The Black Budget unit commanders here in the capital region bases were so craven they could not even work up the courage to tell the civil government that they had lost contact with an entire fleet. And before that there had been regular rotations of personnel between here and Vensath. I can't believe that base suddenly developed such a radically superior military culture."

"You're right, that does seem hard to imagine. Something doesn't add up."

Lafiel continued to half-listen to the interview. Both she and Kathryn had been sending back daily encrypted reports to be sent by Hania relay ship back to their respective services, along with the latest information and transcripts provided by the Investigation Bureau. No doubt Kathryn's were as maddeningly lacking in progress to report as hers were. She had been given no specific deadline, but she knew that the clock was ticking. If they went too long and there were still holes in the story coming from Hania city then the Emperor might decide he had to take action. So far Hania's neutrality was being maintained, if on rather shaky ground. But if the Empire had to go into Hania territory in force that would be exactly the excuse the Triple Alliance needed to move in and open up a new front. At the moment, Lafiel could not see how they were going to prevent that.

# # #

When Jinto was woken by the room computer, for a moment he could not remember why it was an hour too early. _Oh, right. I had told it to do that._

After he changed into his sweat suit he told the computer to make the bedroom wall transparent. The early morning view of Hania City was impressive. Other than a few scattered clusters of tall buildings and some aboveground expressways all he could see was forest that extended to rolling hills in the distance. He knew that a lot of the woods concealed residential areas. Not that they had seen much of it, they had been given just a quick tour on the way from the spaceport to the hotel. The three Abh occupied an entire floor, and each of them had an embarrassingly large luxury suite all to themselves. There was only one other suite on the floor, and that had been set up for their permanent hotel and security staff, on standby 24 hours.

Jinto made his way to one of the many amenities of the shared space on this floor, a well-equipped gymnasium. Being in a high gravity field, Jinto had used that as an excuse to skip his usual morning regimen. But after three days of mostly sitting down in meeting rooms and observation rooms, he needed a workout.

He was surprised to see Kathryn at one of the weight machines. She was lying flat on the bench, pushing at the crossbar with her arms. An impressive set of weights moved up and down on the pulleys. As he passed by Jinto glanced at the digital display on the machine that dispensed the weights. _She's pressing thirty kilos? How long has she been doing that?_ It looked like she had been at it for some time, her sleeveless shirt was liberally soaked in sweat.

Jinto started with his usual stretching exercises. He was just about done when he noticed Kathryn sitting up on the weight machine bench. He finished up and walked over to her. "Good morning, Commander."

She grinned up at him. "Good morning, Excellency. I thought I would be here on my own again."

Presumably she had come here to work out every morning since they arrived. "Don't you get enough of a workout just dealing with the high gravity field?"

"Not sitting around I don't. A long time ago I got tired of huffing and puffing every time I walked around on a lander world, so I decided to do something about it. Our muscles are engineered not to atrophy in low gravity, but the flip side is that we have to work even harder than you do if we want to be your equal in higher gravity."

Jinto nodded toward the display on the weight machine. "That's a lot better than being equal."

"Like I said, we have to work harder at it. Say, do you do boxing?"

"Uh... I did a bit long ago in school."

Kathryn laughed. "Don't worry, I'm not challenging you, I just thought I'd put on the focus mitts and let you do some sparring."

"I don't want to put you to any trouble."

"The way I do practice sparring, it's fun for both of us."

It was. She had him moving all over the practice mat at a frenetic pace. She kept the big, padded mitts strapped to her forearms in motion all the time. Half the time she would just whip the practice mitt out of his way an instant before his glove would have hit. He never knew quite what to expect. She seemed to take equal delight in surprising him and in being surprised when she feinted and he managed to hit anyway. Jinto was gratified to see that by the time he was half-dead and called it quits she had at least worked up a bit of a sweat.

They sat side by side on a bench, drinking water from bottles and getting their wind back. "I got the impression you were holding back," Jinto said.

"After a couple of close calls wandering on lander worlds I decided that training in unarmed combat would be a good idea. Deterrence only buys you so much security."

"From the sounds of it, you've clocked more time on lander worlds than all the other Abh put together."

"Oh, there are other eccentrics out there, mostly first or second-generation like me."

That caught Jinto's interest. "Your parents were lander citizens?"

"Yes. They were both with the merchant fleet and eventually worked their way up to having citizenship and then titles of their own. My mother was almost too old for the natural childbirth by the time they decided to have me. The Abh doctors must have thought they were crazy, but they went along. Mother and father found a nice, established Abh space city to raise me in. But when I begged them to take me to some of the places they had been to they just couldn't resist. Through all that they tried to encourage a proper disdain for the lander worlds, but somehow that just didn't stick."

Abh citizens with titles were required by law to give their children the standard genetic enhancements. Including the one that gave them longer life spans. If her lander parents had raised her so late in life it was given they were no longer around. "I keep trying to tell Lafiel that you can't take the land out of the lander."

Kathryn grinned. "But she keeps telling you to cut out the nonsense and act like a proper Abh gentleman?"

"Am I the only first-generation Abh who feels like I have one foot planted in each world and they're too far apart for me to stand comfortably?"

"Comfort is overrated. You should enjoy straddling two worlds, I think it gives us a vantage point that very few people can have."

"I wish I could convince more people of that."

"Don't feel bad, I have enough trouble convincing my own children of that. I have nine now and I'm sad to say not one of them has ever got their feet dirty." She cocked her head. "You look surprised."

That was an understatement. "It's just that with everything else you have done, I don't see how you could have found time to raise even one child."

"Having them three at a time certainly helped. They're all grown now, of course." Kathryn wrinkled her nose. "Oh, you're just dying to know, aren't you?"

Jinto sighed. Busted again. "Please feel free to lie if you want to. Either way I'll never tell."

"No, the unadorned truth. One hundred and ninety candles this year."

"Congratulations." It took a moment for Jinto to figure out what was wrong with that. "How do you know about birthday candles?"

"That is a tradition on many worlds. But it would be a rather inconvenient custom for us."

"Kudos to anyone who could blow out that many candles with one breath." He grinned. "So when is your birthday anyway?"

"Not near enough that you're likely to still be here to try and embarrass me."

"I just wanted to send you a card. Maybe I could even manage a self-portrait."

"In deference to your Princess I would prefer not to encourage such unconventional behavior in you."

That threw Jinto for a loop. Where had that 'your Princess' come from? Was he unconsciously being overly protective or something? He was at a loss for a reply.

Kathryn took mercy on him and stood up. "We should hit the showers, it's about time for breakfast."

Camin joined the three Abh for their shared breakfast. It had become the custom for the four of them to share their meals together. The hotel put together a very impressive display of Abh delicacies, though on the first day the Commander had to politely ask them to cut down on the number of courses. They did not have all day after all, and could only eat so much. Like all the rooms on this floor, it was ridiculously large and had an entire wall of glass looking out over the city.

Camin was in very high spirits, and Kathryn commented on this. "I've got a surprise for you," he said. "I thought you would all be getting bored with interrogations by now, so I arranged a nice bust for you to see today."

Lafiel looked puzzled. "A bust?"

"Camin is referring to a police raid on a suspect's property," Kathryn said.

"What need would there be to raid the house of a Star Fleet officer?" Lafiel asked. "Have you not simply been dispatching military police to collect them?"

"This one's got nothing to do with my current part of the investigation," Camin said. "It's something one of my colleagues has been looking into, but when I heard about the latest development I took an interest. He's been reviewing the material we've received on the robotics division of the Black Budget research program. The research appears to be pretty prosaic stuff. They wanted to improve automation of shipbuilding at the base since it was so expensive to ship in either skilled factory workers or large components. But it turned out part of the research was being done right here in Hania city. My colleague wanted to review the lab's records, all very routine. So three days ago he called the program's commander and arranged for a visit. He showed up at the lab with his team at the appointed time. But the place was locked and there was no answer at the door. He called for backup and they forced the door. The place was stripped and abandoned. Very recently, probably that very day. And now the commander has gone missing."

"Very suspicious," Kathryn said dryly.

"Needless to say, we immediately gave that part of the investigation much higher priority, both the commander and the lab. Not long ago we caught a break. Traffic surveillance spotted a truck that we think was leaving the lab. It was spotted again later in the vicinity of an office building that was bought some time ago by one of the shadow companies the commander's staff set up to conceal the research. That's where we're going today."

"What do we expect to find there?" Jinto asked.

Camin shrugged. "Whatever our missing commander didn't want us to, hopefully."

The four of them took the floor's private elevator down to the reserved section of the underground parking, the three Abh in their formal robes and the Inspector in his overcoat. A police car and driver was waiting for them. The rear section had been configured with its four seats facing each other. As they moved out of the garage and onto a highway that was lined with old trees, Camin briefed them further. "We've had a team put the building under surveillance since before dawn but there has been no activity. There's no particular reason to monitor it any longer now so we've decided to send the special weapons team in shortly. Our car will be going onto the grounds right behind the four special weapons armored cars. Each armored car carries one squad. Two will secure a perimeter around the building and two more will force the front door and secure the building. As soon as we've decided it is secure then the four of us will go in and see what we can see. Is this acceptable to everyone?"

It was. Jinto assumed that this was being done to give the Abh the greatest possible confidence in the validity of whatever evidence was found here. They would be looking at it even before the Hania Investigation Bureau did, save for Camin himself of course.

They pulled into the underground parking lot of a small building where, as advertised, four gray armored cars on wide tires were waiting. They did not have long to wait. Soon, the armored cars moved out and their driver followed closely behind. It still struck Jinto just how spread out this city was, as often as not all they saw were trees along both sides. But before long they came across four modest glass buildings widely spaced on a mostly empty parking lot that was further surrounded by a wide lawn. They drove onto the parking lot at speed. The front two cars veered off to left and right and the second two came to a screeching stop about ten meters in front of the glass-door entrance of the nearest building. Immediately the rear doors flew opened and armed troopers in black bubble helmets and armor scrambled out. The police car took position in partial cover of the armored cars, but giving them a view of the entrance. One of the running troopers shot something without breaking stride. The glass of the front doors exploded and crashed to the floor in a shower of tiny white crystals. The troopers charged straight through. Camin was intently listening to the troopers' chatter on his headset. After a few minutes, he said something in Hanian that Jinto's tiara just translated as "acknowledged." Then he switched back to Abh. "They've secured the building. There was nobody there, but they've found a few things."

"Interesting?" Kathryn asked.

"Strange."

Two troopers approached the car, their laser rifles shouldered and their helmet masks up to expose their faces. Everyone disembarked from the car and they were escorted into the building. The front entrance was a mess, and Jinto stepped gingerly over its new carpet of glass crystals. They were led to a large windowless room in the back of the building. Overhead lights in a high ceiling illuminated tables all along the walls covered with packing crates of various sizes. But the first thing he noticed was the twenty men lying down in rows with their legs dangling over the edge of long, low tables in the middle of the room. It looked like a scene from a morgue. Two more troopers guarded the room, seemingly unconcerned at the grisly sight. "Are they dead?" Jinto asked.

Camin chuckled. "Nobody's dead, Excellency. Come look closer."

Reluctantly, Jinto did so. As he approached, he saw that the men were not only dressed in identical formal turbans, sashes and white uniforms, they had identical faces. And identical corporate logos on their foreheads. Jinto sighed with relief. "Robots."

"Yes, conventional domestic robots. But a very expensive model. Convincing human-form robots can't be mass-produced cheaply. A lot of the work has to be done by hand. Putting together the facial muscle actuators alone takes many hours of demanding work. One of these will run you about the cost of a nice air-car. You're looking at a not-so-small fortune here."

"These, on the other hand, are cheap knockoffs." Kathryn had opened up one of the largest packing crates. Astonishingly, she pulled a sword out of it. "Aluminum, no less." She took a couple of swings, making Jinto grateful there was plenty of room. "Not even decent balance, purely decorative."

"Please be careful, Kathy," Camin said wearily. "That's state evidence."

They started opening up other crates. There were all sorts of decorations, more ancient weapons and armor and brackets to mount them on walls or floor. There were rich decorative curtains, and a number of rather tacky and quasi-classic paintings and sculptures.

"It's like somebody was trying to put together his own little old-world theme park," Camin said.

"For some exclusive invitation-only parties, no doubt." Kathryn added.

"Would there be any reason to hide this?" Lafiel asked.

"I would be embarrassed to be seen with most of what's here," Kathryn said. "But in all seriousness, the only reason would be the conspicuous consumption of a great deal of embezzled money for those robots."

The only other room that had anything at all was more of the same, this time with some pretty maid robots in long black skirts lying on the tables, their stockinged feet dangling near the floor. For the first time, Camin looked depressed. Jinto couldn't blame him. After going to all this trouble, the result was all very banal. Having satisfied themselves that there was nothing more to see, Kathryn gave Camin the okay for the Investigation Bureau forensics crew to come have a look. Three of the trooper squads left the scene and a dozen men in white coats filed in carrying a variety of black cases. Camin said he wanted to stick around just long enough for the forensics tech to plug into the building computer. He was not expecting there to be anything of interest, but it was procedure. They waited at the front entrance, where the broken glass had been swept aside. The technician read the screen on the reception desk screen for a minute and then looked at Camin. "Chief Inspector, you said that the teams had secured two floors, the ground floor and an upper mezzanine?" Jinto's tiara translated for him.

"That's right."

"The climate control has separate settings for a lower floor as well. This building has a basement."

Camin gave orders and the tacky decorations were forgotten while the technicians literally crawled over the floor, probing with gloved hands and eyes and various instruments. Half an hour later, a different technical called Camin and his Abh entourage to the room with all the maid robots lined up. The technicians pointed to the floor at the far corner of the room. "That section comes up. It's not on the building computer, so it must be opened by an independent data port."

A couple of the troopers helped move crates and tables aside to clear that corner of the large room. A power outlet on the wall turned out to have a hidden data port. The technician plugged his computer into it and went to work. "They have their own encryption to block the police escrow key, but it's a known one. I can open it."

"Please proceed." The technician kneeling by the data port hit a button on his computer. There was a metallic click from beside him and the low hum of a large motor. A long section of the floor on the corner started to tilt up. Standing around the back of the group of ten people, Jinto could not see very clearly, but it presumably would reveal a staircase. He heard a rustle behind him and turned to see if somebody else had come into the room.

The twenty maid robots were sitting up on the tables staring at him with identical brown glass eyes.

Jinto's cry of alarm got everybody's attention. "Damn it, did nobody check their activation switches?" Camin barked in Hanian, his words translated by Jinto's tiara.

"No, sir," a trooper said sheepishly. The maids were all getting down off the tables and coming towards them.

"It's okay, they just think we're intruders," Camin said firmly. "Transmit your peace officer codes." Technicians hit buttons on their palmtops and troopers pressed buttons on their forearm armor. The nearest robot brought her hand up and clumsily punched a technician in the nose. He staggered and fell to the floor.

There was suddenly a lot of shouting and jostling. Jinto backed away as two robots with eerily identical expressionless brown doll-faces advanced on him. The ten humans were backed into the far wall, cut off from the entrance. Desperate for escape, Jinto looked down the newly exposed staircase to see what looked like a closed vault door at its bottom. He would be willing to bet it was locked. The robots reached for him. Out of pure desperation he ungallantly punched one on its ample chest where he thought it would be softer. It was, and the robot staggered back, but the other one grabbed him by the shoulders. He grabbed it by the forearms and was gratified that he could pull its hands off him with just a bit of effort. He no longer feared that he was facing some sort of super Black Budget assassin robot. He yanked both her arms to the side and the robot fell to the ground. But the other one was back and it took a swing at him, which he barely avoided. He repeated his earlier tactic, but this time the robot managed to grab his forearm with both hands. It shook his arm back and forth. Jinto had little idea what its intent was, perhaps it was a clumsy attempt to throw him to the floor. He managed to pull one of its hands off him when the second one punched him hard in the side of his head. He lost his balance and went down. Both maid robots started kicking him. They were girly kicks, but one advantage of their long skirts was that he could not readily see the kicks coming. One managed to land on his solar plexus and he cried out in agony. He held up his arms to protect his face. This wasn't funny any more.

Kathryn came into view and swung a sword into the first robot's neck. He knew it was a robot but it looked absolutely horrible, especially with black coolant or something spurting out where the sword had nearly decapitated it. It stopped moving and went down, pulling Kathryn's sword down with it. She yanked the blade out and with the same motion slammed the pommel into the face of the second robot. There was a shattering sound and it also stopped moving and fell to the floor.

"EVERYBODY DOWN!"

Of course Jinto was already down, but Kathryn immediately obeyed Camin's shouted order. An instant later there was a flurry of gunfire. The room was lit up and Jinto's ears were assaulted by the repeated discharge of heavy laser rifles. Between his raised arms he glimpsed robot heads exploding in showers of tiny logic chips and robot bodies falling like rag dolls. After a few seconds there was silence. The only things left standing were a line of four troopers near the entrance, their rifles still held in firing positions, scanning the room. The only other motion was little wisps of smoke rising from ruined robot bodies.

People started getting up. A quick check around revealed nothing worse than a technician with a twisted ankle, otherwise just lots of painful cuts and bruises.

"Look out!" Said Jinto's translator as somebody shouted. A robot with black liquid leaking from the front and back of its chest staggered up, it appeared to be an earlier victim of Kathryn's sword. It menaced Lafiel, who was the only one near it. She reached blindly to the table behind her and her hand came up with an oversize two-edged ax.

"Wait!" Camin called, quickly coming up behind the awkwardly shuffling robot. He did something to the back of its neck and it dropped to the ground. "There's a red off switch. Any of them that still has a head, press it now." Technicians moved to comply.

"The ones in the other room also activated," a trooper reported. "We just locked the door and that's stopped them for now."

"Okay, we are all leaving right now," Camin announced. "I presume somebody's called for backup."

"Already done, sir," a trooper reported. They started filing out.

Camin glanced to his Abh companions and spoke in their language. "I'm sorry, I have no excuse for putting you in danger like this."

Kathryin waved away his apology. "We didn't come here for a vacation, Camin. Things happen, it comes with the territory."

Camin nodded. "We'll retreat, regroup, then come back in force. Then hopefully we can find out what this night of the living dead nonsense is all about."

"Right behind you, Camin," Kathryn acknowledged. The Inspector walked rapidly out of the room.

Jinto looked at Kathryn. "Night of the living dead?"

"Sorry, that one is lost on me. Camin has some odd tastes, so I'm afraid to ask."

"Jinto." Lafiel came up beside him and took his arm. "Are you hurt?"

"Not badly, thanks to the Commander's swordplay. And you?"

"Just tired."

"I know how you feel. Shall we stagger out of here?"

By the time they got back to their car and moved to a place of safety near the entrance to the property there were twelve armored cars surrounding the building, with troopers to match. They went in to dispatch the remaining robots. Over the course of the day the four of them watched a small army of technicians drive in and enter the building. They cut power to the building and moved in portable lights. They scanned the building at frequencies from radio to X-ray. They scanned for radiological, chemical and biological agents. They even brought in sniffer dogs. As night fell they lit up the exterior with floodlights. By that time there was a regular little base of operations set up, with field kitchen and the works. Camin listened on his headset and relayed the high points to the Abh. It was nearly midnight by the time they gave the all-clear. "They've secured the basement now, this time for well and good."

"Something strange again?" Kathryn quipped.

"Sounds like it."

This time they were escorted by a full squad of troopers. They descended the staircase and passed through a door which had been forced by blowtorch. The entire basement was one large high-ceiling room, now lit rather starkly by an array of portable lights.

They stood and stared. At length Lafiel hesitantly asked "Are these standard domestic robots as well?"

"No, these are definitely customized models," Camin said.

The layout was much the same as the rooms upstairs, but on a larger scale. Tables around the wall displayed the contents of crates that were now tucked under the tables. Long, low tables in the center had rows of robots lying on them. But that was where the similarity ended. These robots looked even more uncannily human. No two were alike. The body styles ranged from slim to voluptuous. They were all either naked or in skimpy underwear, with the occasional black leather outfit. The only thing they had in common were the heavy police restraints that had been placed on their arms and legs as insurance. Most of the tables along the wall were covered by a dizzying variety of female clothing and other exotic accessories.

"My understanding is that this sort of hobby is not illegal in Hania," Kathryn said.

"It's not, but it's not something most would readily admit to either," Camin said. "People go to a lot of trouble to keep it secret. We found a tunnel going to the next building, a bolt hole. If they got unexpected guests then the modified servant robots could keep them busy, giving people down here time to leave."

"I see many sorts of restraints here," Lafiel said from near one of the tables. She turned around and held up a set of furry purple handcuffs. "Were they perhaps holding people prisoner here?"

There was dead silence in the room for a few moments. "Well, that's possible," Camin bravely deadpanned. "But I suspect the robots are the only 'prisoners' here. The most serious crime is still modifying the servant robots to ignore police signals and assault intruders."

"I suppose we've found out why they were so eager to hide," Kathryn said.

"Not really," Camin said. "This is more like an orgy."

Kathryn smirked. "I would presume that is the idea."

"That's not what I mean." He walked over to the line of robots and looked around the room. "In my trade this is what we call an orgy of evidence. In school I knew a lot of people who said they had been to orgies, but I never saw one myself. So I don't believe in orgies."

"That would mean there's something we haven't found yet," Kathryn said hopefully. "This isn't the dead-end it appears to be. So why do you still look so depressed?"

Camin sighed. "Kathy, do you have any _idea_ how much paperwork it will take for me to sort out today's mess?"

Next Chapter: The Art of Fishing

**Chapter 4 - The Art of Fishing**

The door chime of Lafiel's suite echoed softly through the study. She glanced at the display unit on top of the wide redwood desk she sat at. The door camera showed who it was. She touched the display icons to open the door and activate the intercom. "Come in, Jinto."

A moment later he walked into her study. "Good morning, Lafiel."

"Good morning." Like her, he was dressed in sturdy long-sleeved shirt, trousers, walking boots and a simple unadorned circlet-style metal tiara. Yesterday the Inspector had advised them to dress for what was being called a field-trip into some rough terrain on the following day, but other than that it was all very mysterious.

Jinto walked over and glanced at the screen of Lafiel's personal computer, which was set up on the big desk. "Working with the personnel lists again?"

"Yes."

"Is it looking any better?"

"I'm afraid not." In the past couple of days they had received more solid personnel lists for the Vensath base from the confiscated Black Budget documents. They had also received from the Space Force updated estimates of the size of force which had conducted the invasion. No matter how Lafiel tried, she could not make them fit in any plausible way. Even assuming the base command had quickly trained people from the non-combat divisions to serve technical positions on the warships, they would have gone out with barely skeleton crews. "I don't want to raise this possibility with the Commander or the Inspector quite yet, but I think we're going to have to start considering the possibility that they received personnel from the Triple Alliance."

Jinto nodded. Lafiel had not discussed this possibility with him yet, but he did not appear surprised. "If we could prove that, it would certainly take us off the hook for breaking Hania neutrality, even if we did attack the base."

"But the neutrality would be broken nonetheless, with all that implies." It hardly mattered which side the Federation came down on, either way the war would shift in a way unfavorable to the Empire. "I certainly hope the truth turns out to be something different."

"I hope so too. Maybe the people who have gone missing can tell us something."

Since the raid on the warehouse full of robots the manhunts had been going on for two days, but so far no luck. "I think our best hope is to rely on the basic contradiction of a conspiracy. It is at its core an act of betrayal, yet it requires absolute loyalty amongst the conspirators. If they are willing to betray their legitimate leaders then they should be just as willing to betray their fellow conspirators. With the right incentive, surely we can find somebody willing to break the silence."

"No honor among thieves?" Jinto quipped.

"That's an odd way of putting it, but yes."

"Hopefully some more perseverance will pay off. Shall we go eat?"

It was just the two of them for breakfast today. The Commander and the Inspector had said they had to make some preparations and would meet them at the garage level. At the appointed hour the two of them took the elevator down. Their companions were there, but instead of a car there were two odd little vehicles. Lafiel seemed to recall they were called motorcycles.

"Sorry we couldn't meet you for breakfast," the commander said. Like the Inspector, she was dressed the same way they had advised Lafiel and Jinto to. She gestured to the motorcycles. "These are rentals, so we had to go pick them up."

"Rentals?" Lafiel asked. "Why would the police force need to rent vehicles?"

"We're not doing police work today," the Inspector explained. "We're going fishing."

"Fishing?" Lafiel had a vague idea that involved somehow collecting wild fish for eating.

"So we're finally taking a break!" Jinto said, obviously pleased at the idea.

"Yes, I'd say it's time we took a day off," the Inspector said. "It will do us all some good to clear our heads for a while. There's a perfect place just an hour's drive from here that almost nobody knows about, a little piece of Heaven dropped down on the world."

The Commander walked closer to the two of them, smiling warmly. "Highness, Excellency, naturally you're free to stay behind and continue your work if you please. The General Director told me he is at your disposal. But I've always found the best approach to getting a big job done is to work hard and then play harder. I hope you'll agree."

Lafiel suddenly felt very much on the spot. Just arbitrarily setting their work aside for a day did not sit well with her, but perhaps they would benefit from a day of rest. "Thank you, Commander. We'll be happy to accept your invitation." The relieved look on Jinto's face brought a smile to her own. "My thanks to you as well, Inspector. You've obviously gone to a lot of effort."

"My pleasure, Highness. I'll leave you in Kathy's hands. Excellency, I'll have you ride with me if you please. Here, you'll need to put this on." He handed Jinto what looked like a tight-fitting helmet with a glass face-plate. The Commander handed Lafiel the same kind of shiny black helmet, pointing out the switch that opened it like a clamshell across its centerline. Lafiel put it over her head and closed it together with a snap. It was snug, but comfortable. The Commander donned her own helmet. "Don't worry Highness," her voice came through speakers in the helmet. "Both Camin and I have driven these plenty of times." She walked to the nearest motorcycle and straddled it. She pointed to the extension of the padded seat behind her and to small pads at the bottom of the smoothly curving body. "You sit here, and put your feet there."

"I understand," Lafiel said. She got onto the back of the vehicle directly behind the Commander, feeling uncomfortable about violating the woman's personal space like that. She saw Jinto and the Inspector already mounted on the lead vehicle. Presumably Jinto was receiving the same instructions but she could not hear, so it looked like only the pairs of helmet microphones were linked. "Comfortable?" The commander asked.

"Yes, thank you." Physically, at any rate.

The Inspector's vehicle suddenly accelerated away from them at high speed. "You'll want to grab hold of my waist to give you more stability," the Commander said.

"Okay. Pardon my rudeness." Lafiel placed her hands lightly on each side of the Commander's waist. A moment later the Commander's left hand twisted the left driver's handlebar firmly. The engines in the two wheels whined and the vehicle lurched forward violently. The small of Lafiel's back sank into the low backrest behind her. An involuntary cry of alarm threatened to emerge, but she managed to stifle it to just a grunt of surprise. Quite without thinking she had wrapped her arms tightly around the Commander's waist. She was about to apologize and loosen her grip when the motorcycle suddenly tipped at an alarming angle. They took a corner and accelerated further as they ascended the ramp to the surface. At the top of the ramp the motorcycle left the ground for an instant. Lafiel gave up all thoughts of unclasping her hands and giving the Commander more room. Even as it was she was astonished that she had not yet gone flying out of her seat.

As with when they were in the car, their wristbands identified them to the hotel computer and the exit gate opened. They fairly rocketed out of the building and onto the ramp that took them to the aboveground highway. By this time they had caught up to the Inspector's vehicle and the Commander pulled up to cruise behind him. "This must be a lot more comfortable than a mechanical horse, Highness," the commander said.

"Yes, it is." She had told the commander of her adventure on Clasbul, which had included riding a robot horse through a theme park to escape United Mankind soldiers. "And a good deal faster too, remarkably so." In fact that ride on a talking horse had been a lot less stable than this one, she had ended up falling off. But under fire and with adrenaline pumping, she had not really given it much thought at the time.

"That's one reason I like motorcycles," the commander said. "They give you a sense of speed that you don't get on a car or an aircraft."

Lafiel certainly could not dispute that. The barriers to both sides and the roadway right under her feet speeding past her had an immediacy that no view out of a ship's cockpit could match. She suddenly felt foolish over her initial alarmed reaction. She should treat this for what it was, an exhilarating experience of elegantly controlled motion. Lafiel suddenly wanted to try driving, but that presumably required some sort of permit, diplomatic immunity notwithstanding.

Lafiel was about to ask more about where they were going, but thought better of it. It was obviously the Commander's intent to treat them to a pleasant surprise, so she would leave it at that. But there was one thing Lafiel was curious about. "Commander, you appear to be very comfortable working on the Hania home world. Did that take a long time?"

"Not so long, Highness. After I learned the basics of the language I arranged to be the guest of a couple in a small town on another part of the continent here. They were a sweet elderly couple who ran a small but highly respected antiques trading shop. I had made their acquaintance as part of my own little trading business. Living with native speakers for an extended period improved my language ability greatly."

"Do you consider learning the language to be important?"

"Yes, I do. Translation machines or even good human interpreters can do little more than build a narrow bridge between two linguistic worlds. And they really are two different worlds, language is so intimately tied up with the way we think. Learning the language really does open up a whole new world."

"Do you know other languages?"

"Only the common languages used in the military of the Triple Alliance, which was a prerequisite for entry into the intelligence service. Hania is one of the few regions of space where the same language is spoken with only minor variations across a large number of major inhabited worlds. It's also far more homogenous culturally. I have gone to many worlds in the Federation and feel equally comfortable in them all."

Lafiel was unsure how to venture her real question without being rude. "It must sometimes be difficult making the transition back to our own territory after spending so much time here."

The commander laughed a little bit theatrically, probably trying to give Lafiel an audio cue of her expression since they could not see each other's faces. "You're wondering whether I have gone native, aren't you?"

It was distressing having her thoughts read so easily. "I meant no offense."

"I know. Absolutely none taken. I assure you, I can behave like a proper Abh lady if I need to."

"I never doubted that," Lafiel said quickly.

"The fact is that I do feel at home here under the great open sky of a lander world. But in the end, the worlds that we have built for ourselves in space will always be my true home. I have lived and loved and raised children among the stars. And when my time is done I will happily return to them. But I think my life would be a poorer one had I never left our kin the stars behind for a while."

Lafiel was moved to silence. Referring to the stars as their kin was not something any Abh did lightly, it was central to what they were and what they aspired to be. That they were not diminished by turning their backs on their beloved kin the stars for a time was a very bold claim to make. Yet Kathryn had made this claim with easy confidence, and every day of her life was proof that what she said was true.

Kathryn's helmet suddenly tilted back and knocked lightly against Lafiel's face plate. "Hey, I haven't put you to sleep with my pontificating, have I? Dozing off while riding is dangerous, you know."

"Not at all," Lafiel said. "I was just thinking. I have had some unpleasant experiences on lander worlds. But still, I can see there is truth in what you say."

"I'm always happy to meet somebody else who understands the appeal of getting her feet dirty."

They continued mostly in companionable silence, and Lafiel just enjoyed the ride. As they approached a line of low mountains they turned onto a series of roads that were progressively narrower. At length, they turned onto a road that was just packed dirt. It quickly became more rough, and the foliage crowded closer. Kathryn pushed something on the control panel between the handlebars, and the motorcycle reconfigured to ride higher off the ground. Lafiel soon understood why. The road - little more than a path now - became very uneven, and went up a steep incline. Small branches and leaves brushed her sides and helmet. She had to hang on tightly once again. Kathryn deftly maneuvered between the obstacles. Lafiel really wanted to try doing that herself sometime.

They broke into a small clearing and brought the vehicles to a halt. They were next to a pond surrounded by trees and flowering bushes on one side and by an irregular rocky cliff on the other. The pond was fed by a small creek that flowed over and among a set of stones and large boulders. Startled birds took flight from nearby trees and added a riot of color to the sky. The scene was wild and chaotic, the utter antithesis of any proper garden. It was breathtaking.

"This is where we get off," Kathryn said cheerfully.

"Oh, of course. Sorry." Lafiel dismounted and removed her helmet. She drank in the pleasantly cool breeze and the call of birds, a perfect backdrop to this peaceful place. The others had also dismounted and removed their helmets. She and Jinto shared a glance and a smile. Suddenly she was all the happier to be here.

Kathryn had hooked her helmet on one of the handlebars and was opening up the cargo compartment behind the seats. "Is there anything I can help you with?" Lafiel asked.

"Thank you, Highness," Kathryn said. She handed Lafiel a light cloth package. "This is a small tent. For now please spread the cloth on the ground over there with the yellow side up. I'll show you how to set it up."

Lafiel hooked her helmet over the other handlebar. She unsealed the package and found that it was simply part of the tent fabric. She spread it out as instructed. Kathryn pulled a long package out of a narrow chamber that went under the motorcycle seats. She saw Camin pull a similar package from his vehicle. "Those must be our fishing rods," Jinto said.

"That's right." Camin and Jinto picked up the rest of the gear they had unpacked from their vehicle. "Come on Excellency, we need to go to our spot and let the ladies change."

Lafiel looked back to Kathryn. "Change?"

"Yes, that's what the tent is for." She reached into the long package she had opened up. Instead of a flexible rod which was Lafiel's understanding of a fishing implement, she pulled out a thin steel pole tipped with a small barbed blade. "My style of fishing is a bit different from Camin's."

# # #

I could really get used to this, Jinto thought.

He and Camin sat under the shade of a wide tree, on a tall rock that gave them a nice view of the large pond lying below their dangling feet. They each had a rod in hand and a beer at their side. He understood that the fauna had been introduced here by man, but the flora was native. He liked to believe that this place had been here looking much like this for a million years. "How did you manage to keep this place to yourself?" He asked.

"I took a wrong turn one day while hiking, and just stumbled upon it. So I guess it was something I achieved by ignorance and good luck. What's so funny?"

Jinto stopped laughing. "Sorry, it's just that my proudest achievement came from those exact same virtues."

"And what would that be?"

"Being on a first-name basis with Lafiel."

Camin chuckled. "A worthy achievement, to be sure." He glanced down toward the other end of the pond. "I still can't believe Kathy got your Princess to try out spear-fishing."

Jinto still wondered where this 'your Princess' stuff was coming from. "I recently introduced her to swimming, which is something few Abh ever do. But even without that, I suspect she would have done it anyway. Abriels never back away from a challenge, least of all her."

They could see the two women semi-submerged in the water, quietly hunting their prey. So far Kathryn had done all the harvesting, but it certainly was not due to a lack of trying on Lafiel's part. They both wore pale blue wet suits, a requirement for being in this cool water.

"She seems to be a real hands-on person." Camin smiled. "You know, back at the warehouse I really had been tempted to let her go at that robot with a great huge ax. That would have been a sight."

"Sorry, I could do without seeing that." He realized he had sounded more adamant than he had intended.

Camin nodded in apparent understanding. Jinto had already seen her kill a man long ago, and it was a bitter memory. "She's a partner you can trust your life with. That's worth everything."

Yes, she is, Jinto thought. He smiled, wanting to change the subject slightly. "She was a bit annoyed that you released details of that raid to the media."

"Why is that?"

"One reporter had the idea it was her swinging around a sword and chopping the heads off pretty maid robots. She hates the idea of such an inelegant act being attributed to her."

"She must have read the Hania Star news feed. They always manage to get something wrong."

"I was sort of surprised at the level of detail you released this time."

"You could say that was another little fishing expedition. We timed it to coincide with the announcement of amnesty for anyone who comes forward with information on the coup at the Vensath base. If there is anyone hiding out who was involved with setting up that trap for us, they know we're getting closer. Somebody might decide now is the time to come clean."

"So you still think that robot bordello was a hoax?"

"Oh, who knows, maybe it was a little side business for somebody who grabbed a bunch of Black Budget money and bailed. Whatever the case, they went to a lot of trouble setting up a diversion that they must have known was pretty obvious. That robotics research team is a cover for something else, I'm sure of it."

"Staying hidden has been a way of life for the Black Budget program leaders," Jinto pointed out. "They're very good at it."

"That they are, Excellency."

"Just like these fish."

Camin laughed. "Fishing is a lot like poker. There are days when even the best players in the world don't get the hands. You ever play poker?"

"Seldom, and terribly."

They sat quietly for a while. At length, Camin pointed. "Looks like your Princess got lucky."

Lafiel had a fish of respectable size wriggling at the end of her spear. She held it up triumphantly. Jinto waved back at her. "That makes them five up on us now by my count," Jinto said. Camin had got one earlier, but it hadn't been large enough to be worth keeping.

"She's a natural born hunter. If we have time maybe I can take you all big-game hunting."

Jinto regarded him with shock. "You hunt large animals? Mammals?"

"I have, a couple of times. Oh, I keep forgetting, you're from one of the few planets that has native fauna. We introduced all of ours, so we have a different perspective. It wouldn't even be here if not for us. I guess hunting must be illegal on Martine."

"Of course." When the colony ship Leif Erikson had stumbled upon a planet with such a rich native ecosystem it was regarded as something of a miracle. The native animals were still regarded with some degree of reverence. "I guess that's one way the Federation is more like the Abh than my own home world is. To them animals are just fodder."

"Except for cats, from what Kathy tells me. She just adores them. Always wants to see mine, but I have to say no."

"Why is that?"

"That would involve going to where I live with my wife. My number one rule is that I don't bring my work home in any way. No bringing the boss for dinner, no shop talk, no nothing. That's one of the secrets of a successful marriage."

Jinto smiled. "There's not much point sharing marriage secrets with an Abh."

"From what I've heard the Abh notion of romance is something like a firestorm that consumes all and leaves nothing behind but ashes and afterimage."

"That's a bit over the top, but it's true that long relationships are very rare. Just sticking together long enough to raise a couple of kids is considered an achievement."

"It is for anyone. Of course the natural born Abh cheat, they stay young and beautiful for two hundred years. Mostly they don't have to worry that the one they're with today might be their last chance at love."

It was an interesting observation, though not one that Jinto was comfortable with. It was hard to confirm since the Abh kept their romantic relations strictly private. You certainly were not going to find any best-selling treatises on the secrets of Abh love.

At length they saw Kathryn wave her spear over her head with another fish wriggling at its end. She waved them down and Camin waved in return. "Looks like they've got enough for dinner. Time for us to call it quits." He started reeling in his line.

Jinto did likewise. "They've defeated us, a complete shutout."

"That's because we were using the wrong kind of lure."

Jinto turned to stare at him. "Excuse me?"

"I didn't really feel like fishing today, this was just an excuse to come out here and drink beer. Besides, when I'm with the ladies I believe in letting them do the hunting and gathering." He grinned wickedly. "Come on, let's go watch Kathy teach your Princess how to fillet a fish."

That was not without interest. Lafiel was a studious if unenthusiastic pupil. Jinto knew she had never prepared a meal in her life, so scaling and filleting a fish that was reluctant to stay dead was quite a leap. Kathryn wanted to get the men into the act, but it turned out Camin had conveniently forgotten his filleting knives so only one at a time could work. Lafiel doggedly soldiered on, very determined to finish the job herself.

Jinto did end up doing much of the cooking under Camin's instruction, which was only fair. The burner and implements they brought were very compact but well designed, he soon got the hang of it. There was more than enough for them all to thoroughly stuff themselves.

Afterwards they sat around on the tent fabric, which after the ladies had changed out of their wet suits had been turned into a picnic blanket. Lafiel had politely declined the beer, contenting herself with water from a nearby spring. She was being quiet, and looked a bit uncomfortable. Jinto was worried that she was not enjoying herself. Kathryn seemed to notice as well, and with a worried expression asked if maybe Lafiel had eaten too much or felt sick.

Lafiel shook her head. She looked around the group. "Inspector, Commander, there is something I would like to tell you. In the years since I have met Jinto and have had a chance to step outside the world of the Abh, I have learned something about my people. I have learned that there are certain things we do not say to each other often enough." She smiled. "I think the most important is that we do not often enough tell each other how grateful we are to have such fine people as our friends." She gave Kathryn a particularly warm smile and raised her glass. "To friends past, present and future."

"I'll drink to that," Camin said. They all clinked glasses and drank.

"I hope that wasn't an attempt to try and get out of cleanup duty," Kathryn said. They all laughed.

Shop talk did not start up until later in the afternoon. Camin expanded a bit on what he had told Jinto about their plans for selectively releasing information to the public. Their hope was to try and convince any former Black Budget administrators in hiding that they were better off asking for immunity and testifying than trying to stay in hiding.

Jinto noticed that Lafiel seemed to be wrestling with some dilemma. Then she turned to Kathryn. "Commander, I think it is time we shared some more information with the Inspector."

Kathryn considered that for a moment. Then she nodded. Jinto had an idea what Lafiel was referring to, and it seemed Kathryn did as well. The Commander turned to Camin. "What her Highness is referring to is specific intelligence on the order of battle of the invading fleet. Up to now all we have shared with you is the fact that we have identified specific prototypes which are known to have been developed and built at the Vensath base. But I have been under instruction not to provide any further details to Hania officials unless I feel it is absolutely necessary, and I presume her Highness was under similar instructions from the Space Force. I agree with her that now is the time to share this information. Based on our intelligence, it is certain that they invaded with at least nearly their entire fleet. It is likely that every last ship we know about was part of the invasion."

Camin considered that for a moment. "That doesn't seem possible. They did not have enough personnel to fully man all those ships. A lot of them were old prototypes that had been sitting idle for years."

"That is the conclusion we came to," Lafiel said. "Yet there can be little doubt we were engaging ships that were fully manned by skilled crew."

"The personnel lists are one part of the Black Budget files we are very certain of," Camin said. "They controlled access very strictly and security was as tight as it could be."

"Which raises the troubling question of where the additional personnel came from," Kathryn said.

"Robots." Everybody looked at Jinto. He had involuntarily spoken the idea as soon as it came into his head. "We know their robotics research group was trying to hide something. Maybe that's what they were hiding. Maybe they were developing robots that could serve as crew."

Lafiel sighed. "Jinto, that's impossible. Nobody has ever been able to develop a robot that could take the place of trained crew."

It had been a thought that came up at the spur of the moment, but now Jinto felt compelled to work through it. "When the United Mankind attacked we were surprised by new mines they had developed with a very sophisticated artificial intelligence. Maybe the Black Budget program made a breakthrough and went way beyond that level."

Camin looked very troubled, but Lafiel still just looked annoyed. "To make that dramatic a breakthrough so quickly is impossible."

"It is not necessarily impossible," Kathryn said in his defense. "I think we should consider the possibility. But I have to say the possibility is very remote. As a student of history I have a little different perspective on the question. The breakthrough you suggest is one of the great failed dreams."

"The failed dreams?" Lafiel said.

"At the start of the Diaspora from Old Earth there were three great dreams we had. Immortality, Plenty and Received Wisdom. The three great dreams actually date from the earliest recorded history. Different people called them different things, but the dreams were always the same. Call them the Fountain of Youth, the Cornucopia and the Oracle. In the early Diaspora they dreamed of making these a reality. For them the dreams were for anti-agathic medicine, molecular nanotechnology and general artificial intelligence. In all three fields they made progress up to a certain point, but progress gradually slowed down and after just a couple of centuries it halted. It seemed the solutions required a level of complexity that leaves them out of our reach. The same limits have now existed for nearly two thousand years. Nobody can live much beyond two hundred years, only the tiniest micromachines can be built by nanoassemblers, and no robot has intelligence much greater than a small mammal. For such a long time now people have accepted those limits as being fundamental and permanent, hardly anybody gives the Failed Dreams any thought at all any more. With some clever design we can make robots that appear reasonably intelligent when operating within a very limited, predictable framework. But to design one that can make judgments on a battlefield, nobody has ever been able to do that."

Jinto shrugged. "Oh well. I guess I read too much science fiction."

"That does leave another possibility," Lafiel said, sounding eager to stop talking fantasy. "The Vensath base could have been in contact with the Triple Alliance, and could have received personnel from them."

"The General Director raised that possibility with the President early on," Camin said. "I wasn't given any details but they believe that to be impossible. I have to presume it is because the borders in plane space are too closely watched by ships of the regular Star Fleet. For the conspiracy to extend to all those ships is highly unlikely."

"We seem to have run out of ideas again," Kathryn said sadly. "Excellency, you are obviously capable of thinking outside the box. Any other ideas?"

"Yes, I have one. Maybe they've made first contact with aliens and formed an alliance."

"Jinto!" Lafiel said sternly. "The Commander asked you a serious question."

"No, I like that one," Kathryn said. "Do you think they are from another galaxy?"

"No, I think they're from another dimension. My theory is that Plane Space actually has five dimensions. They've been watching us travel through Plane Space just like us watching water beetles crawl across the surface of a lake. They made contact, and the alien princess fell in love with a Star Fleet officer. She married him and promised to make him ruler of all humanity. This is the opening offensive in their evil plan to conquer the galaxy."

"I think I've seen that movie," Camin said.

"It has promise," Kathryn said. "I think we could work with that. But there's another possibility that I think is more likely. You see, I've always maintained that cats are much more intelligent than we give them credit for..." Her scenario was many times more convoluted than Jinto's and left him in stitches. Kathryn asked Camin for his thoughts. His theory took a long time to explain and involved a secret three-way war between angels, shape-shifting vampires and a network of pocket computers which had achieved sentience.

Jinto simply could not resist. "Lafiel, do you have any theory of your own?"

Lafiel glared at him. She looked very annoyed at being expected to top Camin's story. "Well. Let me see. Maybe it's something much simpler. Maybe the base commander showed up at his post much the worse for drink and ordered the attack while in a drunken rage."

Her three companions exchanged surprised glances. "You know," Camin said hesitantly. "That has merit. You just need to explain the two year delay."

Lafiel looked trapped. "Well. Perhaps in his drunken rage he fell and fractured his skull. He did not die but went into a coma. Technically he was still the commander so they could not withdraw the order. They dragged on the preparations as long as they could but he neither recovered nor died so they had to carry out his order."

"I like it," Jinto declared. "It has just the right mix of savage irony and bathos. But with not much happening for those two years I think the plot sags in the middle."

"Oh, I see," Lafiel said dryly. "You are judging my idea on its literary merit. Considering that yours centered on a lovesick trans-dimensional alien princess I think you are in no position to criticize."

"I'll admit I took a lowbrow approach."

Camin's palmtop chimed. He took it out of his pocket and read the message. He grinned. "Well, I know where we're going tomorrow morning."

"Not another bust, I hope," Kathryn said.

"No. It looks like my other fishing line had a bit more success. We've got a bite."

# # #

The large, sprawling house they approached was even more intimately embraced by the ubiquitous old trees than most buildings Lafiel had seen in Hania city. It was not even visible from the visitor parking lot, a discreet sign directed them along a paved footpath. Camin announced them at the intercom beside the wood grained front doors. A stout, dark-skinned woman in a white coat introduced herself as the patient's physician and escorted them to her office. She seemed to be a bit distracted by the presence of the three Abh in their formal wear. By now they all had something of a celebrity status in the city. She was polite enough and invited them all to sit down in her meeting space. She addressed herself to the Chief Inspector.

"I understand that you are here to see mister Reedman because he sent a message to the police indicating he has information pertinent to your investigation."

"That is correct. We would like to meet with him as soon as possible."

She regarded him sternly. "I would like you to understand a few things, Chief Inspector. When Cory Reedman admitted himself to our hospice seven months ago he was already in the terminal phase of a serious neurological disorder. It has left him paralyzed below the waist. He is an intelligent man and is still fully lucid, but he tires very easily. I will need to be present during any interview to judge his condition. And there can be no thought of moving him from this facility."

The inspector nodded. "I understand. Do you have any information on mister Reedman's employment history?"

"I'm afraid that's confidential."

"It is more confidential than you know," Camin said, which took the doctor by surprise. "Since you could not possibly know his later employment history let me summarize. Twenty-three years ago he resigned from his position in the Computer Science Department at Hania Central University and began working on a project which was part of the Black Budget program. Right now we have no information on the nature of that project, we only know that he retired eleven years ago for health reasons. The program he was part of is now central to our investigation of the rogue fleet which invaded the Abh Empire."

The doctor regarded him with shocked silence. "My God," she breathed.

"We have very little idea what he wishes to tell us," Camin continued more gently. "I have no intention of removing him from your facility, doctor. And I have no objection to your being present during our interview, that is your choice. But anything you hear absolutely cannot leave the room. I'm sure you understand."

The doctor closed her eyes for a moment and took a slow, deep breath. "He is such a polite, gentle man," she said softly. "But he never spoke with anyone. Other than visits by me and by the nurses, his robot servant took care of all his needs. We really knew nothing about him." She stood up. "I checked less than an hour ago to make sure he is awake, I'm sure he can see you now."

Camin and the three Abh followed the doctor down a warmly lit corridor that had a glass wall opening onto a garden on one side and a row of identical widely spaced doors on the other. Outside Lafiel saw two elderly people in wheelchairs sitting in the garden under the shade of a wide umbrella, one accompanied by a woman in a white uniform. They had explained to Lafiel that a hospice was a place where landers in the terminal phase of fatal diseases were brought to be cared for. The idea of adults who were too frail to care for themselves or even walk was strange and troubling. Abh were always healthy until the end of their days. In their twilight years they just slept more and more, until one day they did not wake up at all.

The man they had come here to see had sent a text message to the Hania Investigation Bureau identifying himself and requesting an interview. They truly did not know any more than what the Inspector had just told the doctor. So Lafiel had not come with high expectations, and probably neither had the others.

The doctor rang the chime on one of the doors. "Please come in," a raspy voice said over the intercom. She opened the door and led them in.

The spacious room was pleasant but sparsely furnished, with just a bed , a small table with two chairs and a food preparation area in one corner. Cory Reedman sat by the wide glass window in a wheelchair with a blanket over his legs. He looked impossibly frail, with a bald wrinkled scalp and gnarled hands resting on his lap. But he regarded them with dark, alert eyes and a warm smile. Lafiel spared just one wary glance for the maid robot standing motionless beside and slightly behind him, her hands folded in front of her long skirt, her head bowed and her eyes closed, waiting with inhuman patience. It was the same model they had the unfortunate encounter with a few days ago.

Camin introduced himself and the three Abh. Reedman nodded slowly. "I am Cory Reedman," he said in a strained but steady voice. "Forgive me for not being able to offer seats to all my guests. But I believe our meeting here will be brief. I have information regarding a program at the Vensath base which will explain how they were able to field such a large invasion force." He regarded each one of them in turn and smiled. "I gather this is something you have been wondering yourselves."

"There are a number of theories," Camin said with a hint of irony in his voice. "Why don't you tell me yours, mister Reedman."

"Your skepticism is proper. But before I can answer I must extract a promise from you."

"Are you asking for immunity from prosecution?" Camin asked formally.

"No. I am asking for asylum." His eyes met Lafiel's. "Princess Lafiel, I understand that you are a member of the Abriel royal family."

"That is correct," Lafiel said, wondering why he would suddenly ask that.

She noticed he wore an earphone, presumably with a translator. "I would like for you to grant asylum within the Abh Empire to a friend of mine who faces certain death within the Federation."

Lafiel was taken by surprise, but she answered immediately. "That is not something I can grant unconditionally. At the very least I would need to know who is requesting asylum and why before I can consider the request."

Reedman smiled. "That is my dilemma, Princess. The answer to your question of who and why is also the answer to the mystery you have been trying to solve. I cannot answer one without also answering the other. Therefore, I am left with no option. I must have your promise as an Abriel that you will grant asylum to my friend before I can tell you any more."

Lafiel gave this some thought. "Very well." She stepped forward. "Cory Reedman, I will use my authority as a representative of the Abh Empire and my diplomatic authority within the Federation to ensure that any single person in the Federation you name will be granted asylum in the Abh Empire under these conditions. First, we reserve the right to keep this person in the custody of the Emperor as long as we see fit. Second, if this person is convicted of crimes in the Federation in abstention then we reserve the right to mete out whatever punishment we see fit. Third, this person must request asylum in my presence. Before these witnesses I promise this in the name of the Abriel family and the Emperor."

Reedman's face spread into a smile. But his eyes expressed infinite sadness. "Thank you, Princess Lafiel. I can ask no more." He bowed his head and closed his eyes. "My dear friend," he said very softly. "If you have made your decision, then I will say good-bye."

"Thank you Cory," the robot maid said. She took a step forward and curtsied. "I am Miriam Hender of the planet Cetia, citizen of the Hania Federation." She went down on one knee and looked up at Lafiel. "Princess Lafiel, I request asylum within the Abh Empire."

Lafiel turned angrily to Reedman. "You are suggesting I grant asylum to a machine?" she snapped. "Is this your idea of a joke?"

Reedman's expression darkened in a way that astonished Lafiel. His anger was like a physical force coursing through him. She half expected him to rise out of the wheelchair and slap her face. "Princess Lafiel, listen closely for I shall not repeat myself. I extracted a promise from you in good faith. Miriam is the friend on whose behalf I have received your promise and I expect you to carry it out in good faith. Further, I expect you to address my friend with proper respect."

Lafiel took half a minute to control her anger. In that time Reedman's eyes never left hers and his projection of indomitable will did not waver. "If you insist that I participate in your charade, then I shall do so," she said evenly.

Camin suddenly interposed between them, a very concerned look on his face. "Highness, before you grant this request you should know something. Your promise has been extracted under false pretenses."

"I am quite aware of that, Chief Inspector," Lafiel snapped. "But I must ask you not to interfere."

He seemed ready to say something more but decide against it. "I understand." He stepped aside.

Lafiel looked down at the kneeling robot. "Miriam Hender, before these witnesses I grant you asylum within the Abh Empire under the terms agreed with Cory Reedman this day." Her gaze shifted to Cory and she smiled. The doctor, who had been hovering nervously nearer to her patient as the argument escalated, seemed to wither at the sight of Lafiel's face. She took a step back and began to shake. "Mister Reedman, I will now ask you to explain how your answer tells us who has invaded the Empire and how. If I do not care for your answer then I shall not grant asylum for you as well, I shall _demand_ it. There you shall discover why the prison planet where we hold enemies of the state has come to be known as Hell."

Reedman's anger slowly abated. But he showed no sign of fear. "The Smile of the Abh. Like a poison flower in full bloom, just as they say. But my work is done now. Do with me as you please. Your answer is here, you have but to ask for it."

"Highness, I beg you!" The robot cried and prostrated herself. "I will tell you everything you need to know. Cory was not lying to you, I swear." She looked up at Lafiel with pleading eyes, her gloved hands still held on the floor in supplication. "He wants to help you, and so do I."

Lafiel was astonished by this surreal display. She had been treating this as some elaborate charade whose purpose eluded her. But looking down at this robot's face she was suddenly overcome with doubt. It was impossible not to believe this was a person looking up at her, begging for her friend's life. Was she actually a person with a full-body prosthetic? Lafiel had never heard of such a thing and had no idea why it would be done. Any civilized world had limb and organ regeneration technology that would make such a thing superfluous even for the most grevious injury. She turned to Camin. "Inspector, what was this thing you thought I should know?"

"Your Highness," the doctor interrupted. Lafiel gave her a withering look that made her flinch, but she steeled herself and continued. "My patient is exhausted. It appears you have finished your interview with him, so I would like to request that we leave his room."

Reedman appeared to be on the verge of passing out. He was shaking and breathing rapidly. His confrontation with Lafiel had drained him utterly. The robot held his gnarled hands gently in her own and looked up at him with desperate concern. He managed to give her a weak smile. "That woman will keep her promise," he said weakly. "I am certain of it."

Camin came up close to Lafiel. "Highness," he said softly. "I think we should take Miriam with us and return to the station. I believe I can shed some light on what is happening here."

Lafiel could see no further purpose in staying. "I certainly hope so, Inspector. Miriam Hender," she called. The robot stood and turned to face her. "You are now under my protection. You shall accompany me and follow my instructions. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Your Highness," she said. She hesitated, then she turned back toward Reedman. She bent and quickly kissed his forehead. "Good-bye, Cory," she whispered. She turned, stepped closer to Lafiel and stood with hands folded in front of her. "I am ready to accompany you, Your Highness."

Nobody spoke on the way back to the car. Jinto hovered near her, occasionally throwing worried looks her way. It was both annoying and comforting. Camin and Kathryn both kept a respectful distance, giving her the space that she needed right now.

She instructed the robot to ride in front with the driver, which she did without complaint. When they climbed in the back of the car and got underway Lafiel jabbed the button that raised the soundproof glass behind the driver's section. "Okay Inspector, I'm listening."

Camin regarded her solemnly. "As soon as she mentioned the planet Cetia, I knew what Miriam must really be."

Next Chapter: Mimics


	3. Chapter 05 & 06

**Chapter 5 - Mimics**

Cetia was a marginally habitable planet. So when the two colony ships traveling in convoy came across it, they debated whether to even settle. They decided to do so, each establishing a separate settlements on one of the two major continents. This way if one settlement ran into trouble they could hope for support from the other. The settlements had names, but that would eventually turn out to be irrelevant. Simply call them North and South.

Over the next two hundred years, both colonies flourished. They adapted well to the harsh environment, and came to call it home. That was when an exploration ship from the Hania Federation arrived through the local Gate. The Federation explorers explained about Plane Space and taught the Cetians how to exploit it. The long isolated colonists of Cetia were delighted. They found that their Gate opened up into the middle of the galactic region of plane space claimed by the Federation. With little fanfare the small colonies became a minor member of the Federation more or less by default.

That was where the disagreement came. Contact with the Federation taught the Cetians of many new developments, including terraforming technology. The North decided the planet's climate should be optimized. The South insisted their home should remain as it is. The argument was long but the war was short. The North won, and it was no longer North, it was the planetary government of Cetia. Plans for transforming the planet were put in motion.

When the Madness erupted, many regarded it as punishment either for the war or for the tainting of their planet. Some thought it was a natural virus mutated in some remote corner of the world, but natural viruses had been rendered impotent centuries ago. The consensus was that it was a biological weapon developed by the South. Either they had truly intended it to be a doomsday weapon, or it had gone out of control.

The Madness lay dormant for years and could manifest at any stage of the victim's life. It manifested in a dozen different ways. It could be a sudden frenzy of bloodletting. It could be a long series of carefully planned murders. It could be a single intricate act of revenge that was planned and executed over a period of years. The scale could be large or small. The largest was a power plant operator who killed thousands with one blast. But the worst was the countless bodies found day after day all over the world. In most cases the murderers struck by Madness were never found. Some were caught, but most remained at large. It could be anybody, anywhere.

The greatest doctors in the Federation were rallied. They soon concluded that it must have been a virus which altered the germ line DNA of near every person on the planet before it died out. The change would be passed on to all future generations. The change in the function of the brain was so subtle that trying to find the specific sequence in the specific gene that brought it about was unimaginable. It would be a miracle if they found it.

The miracle came in the form of team of doctors and computer scientists on another planet in the Federation who years ago had achieved a remarkable thing. They had fixated and scanned to unimaginable detail the brain of a small mammal. From that they were able to build an actual functioning model of the brain in an artificial neural net. At the time it had been passed off as a rather gruesome stunt that had little medical or scientific value. But to the Cetians, it was just what they needed.

The procedure to fixate the brain for scanning was long, complicated, invasive and absolutely lethal. But the Cetians were desperate, so they found volunteers among the imprisoned murderers willing to be euthanized and scanned. The functional models of different parts of their brain were run and studied. Terminal patients dying from diseases unrelated to Madness volunteered to be euthanized to provide control data that could be compared with the experimental data. That is how desperate they were. With this remarkable tool they soon found what they were looking for. A permanent cure for the Madness was now possible.

The day this was announced should have been the greatest day in the history of Cetia, at the very least a worldwide annual holiday for as long as there were people to celebrate it. The Cetian doctor who made the breakthrough should have been feted and revered, there should have been statues and monument erected in his honor all across the world. But the people soon found that their miracle came with a vile taint attached.

The doctor had worked intimately with a brilliant computer scientist who in later years was damned with the label Faust. This man who would be called Faust had a feel for just how the neural network models could be used to study even the most subtle aspects of brain function. The models he built day after day provided critical insight into the nature of the Madness. The doctors could see exactly what it was doing to the brain in minute detail.

One day the man we call Faust came home from work to find that his daughter had killed his wife. Tearfully, the girl begged her father to euthanize her, it was the only way to atone. Hers was one of the last scans ever done. Mere weeks later, the breakthrough came.

Faust was overcome with anger and grief. He stole the data that was all he had left of his daughter and took it home. He built a neural net to simulate the entire brain and spinal column, all of it, every last neuron and axon and synapse. He installed it carefully into the body of a modified android. He turned it on. Little is known about what happened next. Days later they were found. The robot with the girl's brain simulation had killed Faust and then had systematically torn up the inside of the house until its batteries ran out.

Reaction was swift. All data related to the brain scans was destroyed. It became a capital crime throughout the Federation to even possess such data. Cetia became a stain on the Federation that everybody just wanted to forget as quickly as possible. Investment in its terraforming project was withdrawn and it became a backwater, a shadow of its former self. Its people never fully recovered from the murderous holocaust they had unleashed upon themselves.

But information wants to be free, and the prospect of achieving one of the great Failed Dreams was irresistible. Through underground networks the data survived and made its way to people who were interested in using it. Secretly, quietly, cautiously, they built robots that could run the brain simulations. They found out how to make it really work, and shared this information. For a dozen different reasons from the banal to the malevolent, people turned these frozen essences of people's minds into animated toys, slaves and lab rats. These Mimics became legendary, most everyone knew they existed but few talked about it much.

One day, somebody in the Black Budget program became aware of the Mimics.

# # #

Lafiel sat with her two Abh companions and the Inspector in the room used to monitor interrogations. The lights were up now, effectively turning the one-way mirror into two-way glass. In the interview room, Miriam sat quietly with a young uniformed female police officer. Miriam had become quite distressed over the prospect of being separated from her Abh benefactor. So to avoid any unpleasantness Lafiel had requested this means of keeping her in sight while Camin continued the story he had begun in the car.

"So how did you become aware of these Mimics?" Lafiel asked him.

Camin still wore the uncharacteristically solemn expression he had since their meeting with Cory Reedman. He answered in a very formal way, the usual animated character of his voice all but gone. "Years ago when I was with the vice division I had to interview a Mimic that we had picked up in a raid on a crime syndicate. To be blunt, she was being used as a sex slave. Her robot body had been wired to be able to stimulate the pain centers of the neural net. When whipped she reacted just like a person in pain. They rented her out to customers who liked that sort of thing but were squeamish about using human victims."

"How horrible," Kathryn said softly. Lafiel had noticed Kathryn reacting with open disgust as Camin explained about the Mimics. Lafiel felt the same way, the very idea was an abomination.

"When the Mimic gave her name, or rather the name of the person whose brain scan was loaded into her neural net, I pulled her profile from the database and reviewed it. She was another Cetian woman who had been euthanized to get a brain scan. When I questioned the Mimic it was just like talking to the person herself. She could answer anything at all about her past life. Of course I was most interested in what she could tell me about her experiences since being woken up as a Mimic. She could recount them vividly, reacting in every way like somebody recalling traumatic memories. The Mimics can remember things and learn things. They react to new experiences in every way just like the original person would have."

Lafiel tried to get her head around what she was being told, but one question kept gnawing at her. "I hardly know how to ask this in a way that you can give a meaningful answer. Can we know whether or not the Mimics are conscious or have feelings of their own?"

The Inspector smiled sadly. "That's the big question, isn't it? Nobody has any idea how to even approach the question."

"Inspector," Jinto said. "What happened to the Mimic you interviewed?" He looked as if he did not expect to like the answer.

"The same as happens to all Mimics that are found by or turned in to the police. They are deactivated and shipped to the technology control division. Their neural nets are wiped clean and they are dismantled."

"I guess that tells us the Federation's official position on the big question," Kathryn said dryly.

"There is no official position," Camin said. "People are free to think of it as either the dismantling of an illegally modified robot or as a mercy killing of a person who was involuntarily subject to irreversible mutilation and brain surgery. Either way, you will find very few people in the Federation who do not think that is the right thing to do."

"This must explain why Miriam was so adamant about obtaining asylum in the Empire," Jinto said. "As far as she is concerned, in the Federation she is under a death sentence."

"And that is why I wanted to speak before you granted her request," Camin said. "As soon as I figured out what she was, I wanted to warn you."

"I don't understand," Lafiel said. "Warn me about what?"

"About exactly the burden you were taking upon yourself by accepting her into your care," Camin said gravely. "If she were in my care I would not have to make any decision, by Federation law I have to turn her over to be dismantled and that's that. But it's a given that there is nothing in Imperial law or tradition to deal with this."

The gravity of his words were just starting to sink in. "No, there is not," Lafiel said absently.

Camin regarded here with a look of profound sympathy. "It's not the sort of responsibility I would want to pass on to anyone," he said apologetically.

"You did not pass this responsibility on to me, I took it upon myself of my own free will," Lafiel said firmly. "If I did not understand the implications at the time then that is something I will have to deal with." A horrible thought came into Lafiel's mind. "Inspector, those robots that we had to destroy, you don't think...?"

"No," Camin said emphatically. "After we left that was the first thing the technicians checked for. Robots need to be modified with a completely different type of chip set before they can receive brain scans. None of those were Mimics."

"Still, I won't be quite so cavalier about beheading robots any more," Kathryn said with an ironic smile.

"What is she drinking?" Jinto suddenly asked. Lafiel swiveled her chair around enough to look through the glass. Somebody had brought a bottle into the room and the robot was drinking from it. Once again Lafiel's mind was troubled by the feeling of dissonance as she watched a robot perform such a human act.

"Ethanol," Camin explained. "It powers their fuel cell."

"Why does such a highly advanced robot have such a primitive power system?" Kathryn asked.

"From chatter among the Mimic fans we have intercepted, it seems that Mimics become very distressed because they cannot eat or drink. Somebody came upon the idea that if you give them an ethanol fuel cell and let them drink the fuel it relieves the stress. They even rigged up the fuel bladder pressure gauge to trigger feelings of thirst. The Mimics like to go thirsty and then quench the thirst."

"There's something else I noticed," Jinto said. "If you look closely she appears to be breathing."

Camin nodded. "She is. It's an ethanol-air fuel cell. The respiration is functional, it passes oxygen over the fuel cell and expels the waste, which is just water vapor and carbon dioxide. That's another thing somebody found out mitigates the trauma of a Mimic waking up into a robot body. Hell, most of them even have a coolant pump that works like a two-chamber heart, and in the correct location too. The neural net is going all the time and generates a lot of heat, so in a small mobile robot liquid coolant is the only option."

"They really have gone to a lot of trouble to build these abominations," Lafiel said bitterly. "I think it's time I found out what this robot has to tell us."

"Your Highness," Camin said. He looked at her with a sympathetic, almost imploring expression. "Please remember, she is going to react in every way like the real Miriam Hender. If you try to treat her as a robot she will react in exactly the same way as if you treated a living person that way."

Lafiel nodded. "I understand," she said curtly. She had read the profile of Miriam Hender from the police database. She had been an elderly woman with three children and four grandchildren. When she was diagnosed with terminal cancer she had volunteered for the brain scan.

"There's one last thing, even more important," Camin said. "And believe me, this one is true. After you have been talking with her, you are going to reach a point where it will be impossible for you not to regard her as a person. You don't believe that now, but you will. Please make sure you are prepared for that."

Lafiel regarded him for a few seconds. "Thank you, Inspector," she said, taking some of the edge off her voice. "I will remember that."

"Highness, would you like us to accompany you?" Kathryn asked.

Lafiel considered that for a moment. "No, I think it would be best for me to speak with her alone. Also, I think it would be better if the rest of you left the observation room and monitored by camera."

"I agree, we will probably get the best results that way," Camin said.

Lafiel opened the adjoining door and entered the interview room. Miriam stood and bowed. Lafiel sat down on the armchair that faced her across the table. "Please be seated, Miriam." She did so. Lafiel noticed she was on the same small stool used for all interviewees. "Are you comfortable?"

She smiled. "Yes, thank you Your Highness. Cory made sure that this body never makes me feel uncomfortable." Her voice bore the unmistakable metallic echo of human-form robots. Even the best of them could not completely recreate the entire apparatus from diaphragm to lips that produced a human voice. But her inflection was flawless.

"I see." Lafiel wondered if she should have taken the time to get some more background on the Mimics. But Miriam did not appear to be uncomfortable talking about her existential condition, so perhaps having her explain things as they went along would build some rapport. "Miriam, the Chief Inspector has explained your situation to me in general terms. Was it Reedman who loaded your brain scan into this neural net?"

"Yes, it was." Her expression became what Lafiel would describe as indulgent. "Your pardon Highness, I know that the Inspector did not have much time to brief you. Cory has done everything he could to make sure I am comfortable with my present condition. But many Mimics are never even told by the people who make them what exactly has been done to them."

It was something she had not even considered. Lafiel tried to imagine somebody waking up in a synthetic body immediately after facing certain death and not being told why. This thought made her all the more anxious to get one question out of the way. "Reedman could not have obtained your consent to have your brain scan loaded into a robot body. And yet you appeared to be on friendly terms with him."

Miriam nodded. "You are right, that requires some explanation. In the last years of his service in the Black Budget robotics program, Cory was put in charge of a project to optimize robot bodies for running neural nets with loaded brain scans. I only remember ever waking in one particular body. But in the course of the project Cory and his staff loaded many different brain scans into many different prototype bodies. Of course this is something he told me after the fact."

And no doubt they wiped the neural nets after each experiment, Lafiel thought. Just how many times had Miriam woken up in a synthetic body only to be sent back to oblivion? "Did he tell you why they were doing this?"

"Yes. They wanted to find whether we could learn new skills the same way people do, and whether we can retain them. In other words, to find whether we could still develop like a living person. So after they had a robot body they felt was adequate, they started training us. Cory was in charge of my training. As a test, over four months he taught me basic computer troubleshooting and repair. I did quite well."

"And you were his prisoner this entire time?"

For the first time Miriam was hesitant. "Yes, though I did not know it at the time. I was told this was part of an experiment and that I had two choices, either volunteer to participate or have my neural net wiped. If we participated and the experiments succeeded, we would be set free. Needless to say, I chose the former."

"What was the purpose of the experiment?"

Again, the slightly apologetic smile. "It will sound unbelievable, but they were so convincing. They told me that they wanted to give everybody in the Federation the option of achieving immortality. If they could make sure it worked properly, then anybody who was old or dying could have their brain scanned and wake up as a robot. Immortality for all."

The very idea made Lafiel's mind reel. The feeling of dislocation threatened to overwhelm her again. "Miriam... What you suggest would be the end of everything we know. Did you really believe that was going to happen?"

She nodded. "Of course it was a lie. To this day the program remains a secret. The brain scan data and the schematics for the optimized robots were sent to the Vensath base and the program was terminated. That is all Cory ever knew. When news of the invasion came, of course we both suspected the same thing. They must have been spending the past eleven years training people whose brain scans had been downloaded into robots. They must have been trained as crew for those ships."

Lafiel was unsure what to make of this. It was so monstrous and illogical. Why would they do such a thing, it simply made no sense. But there was a more immediate question she wanted to address. "How did you end up being with Reedman at the hospice?"

Once again the range of expression on the robot's face astonished her. Miriam very obviously felt shy and embarrassed. Had she been a light-skinned human she would surely be blushing. "In the time we spent together, Cory and I became very good friends. When the program was terminated we all had our memories wiped. But Cory took a backup that had been made of my neural net at the end of my training period and smuggled it out. He purchased a robot body, removed the existing computer brain and modified it to receive my brain scan. When I woke, he confessed everything to me."

Lafiel hesitated. "I'm not certain I understand correctly. Are you saying that the body and neural net you have now are not the ones you had when Reedman was training you?"

"That's right. I know it is difficult to grasp. To your mind, he killed me and simply created a brand new Mimic from a more recent scan. But you have to understand, from my perspective it made no difference. Miriam Hender's original body died more than twenty years ago. Since then her brain scan has been used to create a dozen Mimics that I know about and probably many that I never will know about. From my perspective, he saved my life and I will always be grateful for that. Soon after that he retired from the service and I have been with him since."

Lafiel looked into Miriam's eyes and suddenly understood what had happened, why Cory had risked his career and probably his life, and why Miriam felt no bitterness about what he had done to her. It was obvious, they had fallen in love.

Camin's warning played back in Lafiel's mind. _You are going to reach a point where it will be impossible for you not to regard her as a person. You don't believe that now, but you will._

Lafiel was a believer now.

She must have been lost in thought for a couple of minutes at least. Miriam just waited quietly. There were so many things Lafiel wanted to ask and so many things she needed to try and sort out. She decided to try and focus on some more immediate matters for the moment. "Miriam, If anyone found out who you really were, Reedman faced the death penalty for that alone, to say nothing of betraying the trust of the Black Budget organization. You must have gone into hiding."

"It would be more accurate to say we were hiding in plain sight, Highness. I learned to act like an unmodified maid robot and I played that role whenever anyone else was in my presence."

It was a very simple but astonishing answer. "You were able to keep that up for eleven years?"

Miriam smiled. "It is not as hard as it sounds, after a while it became second nature. There are some friends and family he has kept in touch with, but we tried to live a quiet life." Her expression became much more grave. "When Cory was diagnosed as being terminal, he was more worried about my fate than his own," she said softly.

Lafiel could understand why. Without a master to serve, she could no longer play the role of maid robot and would have been found out. This was probably the time to settle another issue. "Miriam, I promised to grant you asylum in the Empire and I will keep that promise. My companions and I will likely be staying in the Federation for some time longer. I think it would be best for you to accompany us and stay with us while we are here. Jinto and the Commander are people I trust implicitly, be assured you are just as safe with them as you are with me."

Miriam appeared to be profoundly relieved. "Thank you Your Highness, I am very grateful."

Lafiel herself was grateful to postpone the issue of what Miriam's ultimate fate might be, it was not something she really wanted to think about at the moment. "Is there anything else you think you should tell me?"

"Just one thing, Highness." Miriam reached into a pocket hidden within her voluminous pleated skirt and removed a small data crystal, which she placed on the table. "This is something Cory asked me to pass to you. It is a list of names of other people who were involved with his project. I hope it is of some help."

"Thank you, I'm sure it will be." Lafiel took the data crystal and pocketed it. Miriam appeared to be a bit distracted, as if she were debating whether to say something more. "Was there anything else?" Lafiel asked encouragingly.

After a moment's hesitation, she spoke rather awkwardly. "If I may, I would like to ask a favor."

"Of course, if it is something I can do."

Miriam reached into a pocket on the other side of her skirt. She placed a thick palm-sized data crystal on the table. If whatever it contained really needed a crystal that size it must be a truly astonishing volume of data. "If you would, please take this for safe keeping. To explain what this means to me, I can only tell you directly. It is my backup. I uploaded it last night."

It was a couple of seconds before Lafiel could bring herself to pick up the crystal. She knew perfectly well that these crystals were near indestructible, but she found it impossible not to handle the little box with great care. "Miriam, I am a loss for words. Do you really want to entrust this to me?"

She nodded. "I would feel better knowing that you have it."

"I will treat nothing with greater care." It seemed disrespectful to just pocket the crystal, but there was no other practical thing to do. "I must return to the next room to consult with my colleagues. When we are done for the day you can accompany us to where we are staying."

"Thank you, Your Highness," Miriam said. "In caring for Cory these years I have become an accomplished maid servant, perhaps while I am with you I can serve you in that capacity."

Lafiel smiled. "The hotel has provided us with more servants than I can count. I think it would be simplest for you to regard yourself as my guest." Her mention of Reedman reminded Lafiel of something. "I will ask the police to confirm Reedman's state of health, after today's ordeal I am sure you are anxious to be assured that he is well. Would you like us to arrange for you to be able to contact him?"

Miriam smiled sadly. "Both Cory and I knew that today would be good-bye, one way or another," she said gently. "I would like to know that he is well, but I have resigned myself to the fact that I will never see him again."

Lafiel regarded her with wonder. "You are a very brave woman, Miriam."

Her smile became more friendly. "I have already died once, Highness. It is an experience all Mimics have in common. People who have died and lived to tell about it soon learn to live with fear. If we are brave it is because the only other option is going insane."

# # #

It was dark by the time Lafiel finished reviewing the briefs from the Abh embassy and posting her daily report. The factual part of today's progress was straightforward enough. The names provided by Cory Reedman were all part of the Black Budget personnel lists. But they were scattered across a dozen different projects, until now there had been nothing linking them. It had been something hidden even from the Black Budget project leadership, a conspiracy within a conspiracy that could only have been directed from the Vensath base itself. It was hard to imagine the web of lies they had lived within.

But nobody would be able to ask them about it. Those who had not left the Black Budget program early as Cory had done had gone to the Vensath base and had never been rotated back.

Before turning in she checked up on Miriam in the guest room of her suite. She was sitting at the computer terminal. "May I ask what you are reading?" Lafiel asked, genuinely curious.

"I have been taking an elementary course in the Baronh language, Highness. I thought it might help me in the future."

She is thinking of her future in the Empire, Lafiel thought. She felt that they had been able to communicate well enough despite the barrier presented by the translators. But apparently Miriam shared Kathryn's view on the importance of language. "I have finished my work and am turning in for the day, so I will wish you a good night."

"Good night, Highness. I will likely be turning in soon myself." She smiled at Lafiel's visible puzzlement. "Mimics must be left activated to go through a regular sleep cycle, nobody knows why. But then, Cory told me we still do not really understand why anybody needs to sleep."

That conversation was somehow a perfect postscript for a day which had assaulted her with such a deluge of mind-numbing dissonance. Even as Lafiel changed into her night clothes it was obvious she was not going to get sleep any time soon. So she donned a robe and slippers and walked through the wide semi-darkened corridor to the shared lounge. The lights were also dim here, but not so much that she could not see Jinto sitting on the couch that faced the glass wall through which the city's clusters of lit-up skyscrapers could be seen. "It looks like I'm not the only one who can't sleep tonight," he said.

Lafiel sat down beside him. "What is keeping you up?"

"I'm not even sure," he said softly, as if he were still lost in thought. "Of course what we learned today would disturb anyone. But it's more like I'm missing something important and obvious."

They were silent for a while. Lafiel pulled the data crystal from her pocket and casually examined it. "Miriam's backup?" Jinto asked. She nodded. "I heard there was a place in the Empire where people store maps of their brains on data crystals after they die."

"That's the people of the Dreuhynu Gogam realm," Lafiel said. "But those are just static data crystals, they can't do anything with them." She turned over the oversized data crystal in her hand. "This is something different. With this I could _build_ another Miriam Hender, no different than the person I was just speaking with."

Jinto smiled. "You could make twenty of them."

"That's not funny."

"No, it's not," he said sadly. "I remember you suggesting we make a thousand copies of you and me. Now that it's a real possibility, somehow that's not funny either."

Lafiel sighed, closed her eyes and tilted her head back. "I'd like to give this job to one of those copies, or maybe five of them. They could form a committee and just report back to me. I've never had a task that I wanted so badly to stop thinking about." She opened her eyes and turned a bit to face Jinto. "I think I would prefer to deal with your alien princess from the higher dimensions of plane space."

That got no response at all. Jinto was just looking very pensive. Lafiel sat up straight and turned to face him. "Jinto?"

It was a few seconds before he answered. "That's the thing I was missing. I was too busy being horrified at the idea of these Mimics. I haven't thought of the economics."

Jinto sounded worried, but not in his usual nervous way. He had Lafiel's full attention now. "The economics?"

He spoke rapidly, as if time were suddenly of the essence. "What's the thing that always constrains us in our war effort? It's people. Automation only goes so far, there are so many jobs that can't be done by robots or computers. There are only so many people to build the ships and man them and do all the other things. People take years to train and the only way to get more is for all of us to spend even more years raising children. But what if it took days instead of years? What if you could take one trained person and turn them into a thousand, tomorrow?"

Lafiel felt uneasy. "But the people who's brains were scanned weren't trained..." Her voice trailed off. She looked at the data crystal still in her hand.

Jinto nodded. "They've had eleven years to train them to do whatever they want. Including all the skills needed to make more robots and neural nets. After that, it's just a matter of uploading to backups and then downloading into more robot bodies again. As many times as they want."

Lafiel considered that for a moment. It is exactly what Miriam had suggested, but Lafiel really hadn't grasped the implications. "We need to evaluate this threat, but I'm not sure how we can. It looks like they've wiped out all evidence of the program that existed outside of the Vensath base."

"I know. Maybe the best we can do is to evaluate the potential threat. I've been applying our standard resource analysis model to confirm that the Black Budget resources and manpower were sufficient to build the fleet that invaded the Empire. But I think I can modify some of the assumptions to find what they could do by training Mimics."

Lafiel remembered attaching those analyses to her reports. "Could you use some help?"

It took them most of the night. The first part was a bit tricky since they had to dive into parts of the model that were always treated as static and modify them in ways never intended. They ran the model to estimate the production capacity of the Vensath base and got figures that were impossibly large. They spent most of their time trying to find what other restraining factors would limit the growth of the fleet and support infrastructure.

There were none. It was exponential growth whose only limit was the total natural resources of the Vensath system. Which meant effectively no limit.

Before dawn they woke the commander and showed her their work. Over just a couple of hours, her expression and her reaction changed from puzzlement to uneasiness. She was more experienced with this sort of analysis than they were so she asked them detailed questions and was able to point out some things they missed. But the result was the same. There appeared to be virtually no limit to the growth of the base and its fleet.

Camin's arrival for their usual breakfast meeting took them by surprise, they had lost track of time. They ordered a meal brought to the shared office space and served themselves while Kathryn brought Camin up to speed on what they had been doing. He looked even more disturbed than the Commander had been. "To be honest I was thinking of this since yesterday," he said. "When his Excellency suggested they were using robots. But I just couldn't figure out why they would bother, even with Mimics who could be trained. What's the point." He regarded Jinto across the meeting table. "I think you've nailed it." He shook his head. "Kathy, do you really think they could be using Mimics on this scale?"

"We have no idea," Kathryn said. "But I think the point remains that they could."

"If they have created a much larger force, I can't understand why they did not use it," Lafiel said.

"It could be they wanted to keep their true capability hidden for the moment," Kathryn said. "They used forces which they knew could be attributed to the Black Budget programs described in the documents that have been seized here in Hania."

"Then why attack in the first place?" Lafiel asked.

"A reality check." They all looked at Jinto, who appeared even more troubled now. "The Mimics might have had a lot of training but they had no real combat experience. They wanted to evaluate how the crews stood up in a real battle."

"They stood up very well," Lafiel said grimly. "Far better than one would expect for crew that had just come out of training."

"They might have done their own live-fire exercises," Jinto suggested. "Really large ones involving entire squadrons. I mean, why not? They had unlimited production capacity and any trainees killed in battle could be uploaded from yesterday's backups." He looked at Lafiel. "Even Miriam was comfortable with the idea of being restored from a backup into a new neural net."

"This is getting too speculative," Kathryn said. "But I think the threat is real. We need more information and it looks like we've already found everything we are going to find here. Highness, I think the time for sending reports back home is over."

Lafiel nodded in understanding. She tried to imagine the reaction of the Space Force command if she sent them some sort of written summary trying to explain the strange and terrible threat they might be facing. She was not yet sure that she believed it herself, even trying to convince somebody face-to-face was going to be difficult enough. "I agree, we should return to our respective commands as quickly as possible."

Kathryn looked puzzled. "You won't be returning to the neutral port with me?"

"I think that Jinto and I should go directly to the newly established neutral port at Thracia. Of the forward bases monitoring the region around Vensath it is the closest from here. If even part of what we are thinking is true then they could face imminent attack by a larger force, they need to be warned."

Kathryn nodded. "I agree. Camin, can you call the General Director for me? We will likely need his help to make the arrangements."

Things proceeded quickly. By midmorning they had managed to jump through all the diplomatic and bureaucratic hoops to effect the sudden change in plans. They would be leaving the hotel for the spaceport later in the day, with just a quick obligatory detour to the Federation government office for a brief reception with the President of the Federation. Lafiel fumed over this, but the Commander assured her it would not delay them. Their interstellar transports would not be ready until the end of the day regardless. And a gesture to the local democratic government would help make sure that no snags in their plans suddenly showed up.

It was at this point that Lafiel realized two things. She still had not showered and changed, and she had forgotten to tell Miriam of their pending departure. Lafiel felt badly about the latter, so she made that her first priority.

Miriam was still sitting at her desk, now with a half-finished bottle of ethanol beside her. Lafiel decided there was no point hiding anything, she explained exactly where they were going and why. Miriam appeared to be even more horrified at the prospect of what they were facing than Lafiel felt. Lafiel could well understand why. If even the smallest part of this was true then the horror that had been inflicted upon her was being repeated uncountable times, on a scale undreamed of in the underground Mimic market.

This brought Lafiel to the question she had been dreading. "Miriam, I told you all this so that you will have no illusion about where I are going. It is a war zone and duty demands that I go there immediately. Commander Okibe Kathryn is going to the neutral port. She has offered to carry out my promise and on my behalf grant you asylum in the Empire. Further, she has offered to keep you in her care for as long as you wish. We have already informed our superiors of your situation. But I have little idea what sort of reception you will receive. Both Kathryn and I are determined to take up your case in any way we can, but we can only do so in so far as it is consistent with our duty to the Empire. Ultimately, it is the Imperial government that will decide your fate. I'm sure you understand that already, but I'm afraid the issue is being forced by events. I'm very sorry, but today you are going to have to decide whether to accompany me or the Commander."

Miriam looked pensive. It was a few seconds before she answered. "Thank you for your honesty, Highness. May I have some time to consider my decision?"

"Of course. You will not need to decide until we all reach the spaceport."

It did not take that long. When Lafiel had changed into her formal robes, helped finalize the arrangements and come to collect Miriam, she had made up her mind. She stood before Lafiel radiating calm resolve. "I would like to accompany you to Thracia, Your Highness. You will need to make your commanders understand the threat they are facing. I think that my presence is the proof that you will need."

"You have no obligation to help me," Lafiel said emphatically. "My promise to you was made only with the conditions I stated, and I will impose no others."

"I believe that, Highness," Miriam said softly. "But I think that I also have a duty. For all I know copies of my own mind have been brainwashed into being slave-soldiers. My stake in this war is no less than anybody else's."

These insights were ones that had not occurred to Lafiel. She smiled. "I am very happy to have you coming with me, Miriam," she said, meaning it. She felt that it was a failing on her part not to have understood what a help it would be to have Miriam accompany her. But she was glad that Miriam had made the decision herself without being asked.

They met everybody in the elevator lobby and Lafiel announced Miriam's decision. The Commander approved. "You're right Miriam, your presence will be an invaluable help." She smiled sadly. "I have to confess, I would have a very different perception of Mimics had I not had the opportunity to meet you. Forgive me, but without that it would have been all but impossible to think of Mimics as anything more than modified robots."

Miriam's lips curled in her now familiar enigmatic smile. "Before I died once, it would have been impossible for me not to believe any different, Commander."

"I think you have made the right decision," Kathryn said warmly. "But I confess I would like to have you come with me as well, though not just for the company. I have no idea how I am going to make my own superiors understand all this."

"Perhaps this will help." Miriam reached into her pocket and in an instant Lafiel knew what was going to happen. It was all she could do not to shout out a warning. But she held her tongue. A moment later, Kathryn was staring down at the oversize data crystal in her palm. Lafiel suddenly felt the weight of the crystal resting in her own pocket. She saw the same profound dissonance play across Kathryn's face. "It is a backup I took last night," Miriam confirmed. "And instructions for modifying a robot to run it. Hopefully its very presence will lend some weight to your argument when you try to make people understand. I will trust this to your discretion."

Later on, Lafiel and Kathryn shared a glance and a quiet nod of mutual understanding. Nobody could hold such a thing in their hand and not feel the weight of the question it represented. _Can all that we are really be reduced to this little thing?_

# # #

Camin had been hoping he could skip the reception with the President, but the General Director was having none of it. So their stop-off at the Bureau office to pick up the General Director also included a quick-change into a formal suit for Camin. Mercifully, their schedule necessitated that this reception be even more short and sweet than the one at the Abh's arrival to Hania had been. They heard the usual solemn platitudes and went on their way, with the General Director returning to the Bureau. Sitting together in the back of the long escorted limousine speeding to the spaceport, the others also appeared relieved to have it over and done with. Lafiel seemed particularly bewildered by the event. "I understand the value of ceremony, but not of empty ceremony. If a leader addresses his subordinates or his counterparts he should have something of substance to tell them. Words of encouragement or inspiration at the very least. Maybe something was lost in the translation but it seemed to me that the President said nothing at all."

"Saying nothing and making it look like you are agreeing with everybody is a very fine art," Camin said. "The President is very good at it, that's why he's President. If he says nothing, then later on nobody can come back and say that his actions did not fit his words."

"Remember what I told you about plausible deniability?" Jinto quipped.

"I understand his need to be careful what he says," Lafiel said irritably. "He can be deposed in at least two different ways that I am aware of and I would not be surprised to learn that there are other ways as well. It seems this is a form of government designed under the assumption that nobody is worthy to lead."

"I think you have reached a profound understanding of democracy," Kathryn said, grinning.

"What understanding is that? I am still baffled."

"That is the central premise of a democratic government," Kathryn continued. "All the text in the constitution is about the means of selecting and changing leaders. The implication is that this is the best way to find somebody worthy to lead. But the unspoken premise is that nobody is ever worthy to lead. That is why a democracy tries to be a government of laws instead of a government of people. They make sure the leaders at least can't do any harm and get away with it."

Lafiel still looked profoundly baffled. "Do they really think that rules for deposing leaders will squeeze some good governance out of bad leaders?"

"As far as they are concerned, that is our only hope. For them, a good form of government has to be built on the assumption that half the leadership will be fools and the other half knaves. Back on old Earth there was once a small country that drew up a new democratic constitution for itself. It was very short-lived, the country quickly degenerated into anarchy. At the time a scholar famously commented that their constitution was designed for a nation of angels. He meant it as an insult."

Lafiel took a moment to absorb that. "Commander, I think there is something I do understand now. The leaders of Hania failed their people because they were put in positions of trust even though they knew they were not trusted. This government places more restraints on its leaders than we place on prisoners. Yet the fate of the Federation was put in their hands. How could that not fail?"

"I guess we're still looking for a way to make people trustworthy," Camin said.

"There is one!" Lafiel said adamantly. "Teach your future leaders the full weight of the responsibility that is being given to them. Make it the first and best lesson they ever learn. Then give them that responsibility and trust in what you have taught them." Her expression softened. "You will forgive me, Inspector, I did not mean to imply that you are to blame."

Camin grinned. "In civics class they told us that in a democratic country every voter is part of the ruling class. If I am to blame then the blame is being spread pretty thin."

That seemed to go over well. Lafiel even smiled a bit. "I'm afraid my frustration got the better of me. I hear everyone in Hania complaining about how a part of their government had secretly betrayed them. But if they were never trusted by their people in the first place then how could they be loyal to their people?"

"Highness, have you ever heard of Socrates?" Camin asked.

"I only took one classics course in the academy, and I recall it dimly," Lafiel confessed. "He is pre-Diaspora, is he not?"

"He's pre-everyting, pretty much the first person in recorded history who had anything worthwhile to say. One of the conclusions he came to after much thought was that the source of vice is always ignorance. Wise people will never do evil because they know better."

"That makes good sense."

Camin smiled. "The only problem is, since then human beings spent the next four thousand years proving that he was wrong."

Lafiel regarded him silently. The implied challenge lay there between them. _Do you think the Abh can be the ones to prove that he was right after all?_

"Miriam, you've been very quiet," Jinto commented. "I felt sort of badly about how the President's delegation did their best to ignore you, I think we all did. Are you feeling okay?"

And now we have been ignoring her too, Camin thought with no small amount of guilt. Nicely done youngster, you cut into a debate over moral philosophy with a few word of kindness that made us look like boors.

Miriam smiled warmly. "Thank you Excellency, but I am feeling perfectly well. Being silent when other people are around has become second nature to me. It will probably take a while to get out of the habit." They had all been speaking in Abh without thinking about it, she had been listening through her translator.

"Lafiel tells me you're starting to learn Baronh," Jinto said. "I had to do that just a few years ago, maybe I can give you some pointers."

"That would be the blind leading the blind," Lafiel said. "I can see I'll have to save you from picking up Jinto's bad habits."

"You probably don't even remember learning Baronh," Jinto countered.

"That's because I learned when I was a baby!"

"My point exactly."

"What point? You're not making any sense."

"I don't envy you Miriam," Kathryn said. "You will be trapped on a relay ship for three days with two language teachers fighting over their only student. Are you sure you won't reconsider keeping me company instead?"

Miriam's smile became playful. "I can also keep you company, Commander. If you take along a neural net assembly with enough capacity you can download my backup into it. There are instructions for hooking it up to a virtual reality interface."

Kathryn raised up her hands as if in defense. "Please, don't tempt me. I'm still trying to get my poor head around the implications of doing that."

Camin felt much the same way. He was profoundly grateful Miriam had not entrusted him with yet another of her backups. The prospect of that was enough to make crawling into a corner and gibbering for a while into a tempting option. He thought he had got his own head around how Mimics fit into the big scheme of things when he did his work for the vice division, but that had been nothing more than denial. This grandmother who had died twenty years was now speaking through the mouth of a modified maid-robot, and she was continuing on with life as if nothing had happened. It was all just a little too good to be true.

Conversation soon turned to more immediate matters. The Abh were leaving, but for the moment they were still calling this a joint investigation. Camin would send regular reports to both Kathryn and Lafiel until the Abh leadership said otherwise. He encouraged them both to reply with any questions or suggestions they had. They had been the ones to quickly realize the implications of the Black Budget work on Mimics, particularly his Excellency from what Camin had been told. He genuinely wanted to keep getting their input.

They soon arrived at the spaceport. The relay ship to Thracia would be the first to leave, so it was time to say good-bye to the three who were going that way. Camin really regretted their time here having been cut short so abruptly, it had been a blast. Lafiel in particular also appeared to regret the early parting. She really looked like she was sorry that proper decorum forbade her from giving Kathy a big hug. So it was just polite but heartfelt good-byes all around.

Camin and Kathy exchanged waves with them one last time as they disappeared into the departure gate. "I hope those kids will be okay," Kathryn said, sounding genuinely worried.

"I'm sure he will be."

She gave him a sidelong glance. "Your meaning?"

"Give me a break. He's just your type, it must have been all you can do to keep your hands off him."

She smirked. "He's quite the charmer, no doubt about it. Too bad he's spoken for."

"I'll say he is. I've never seen a girl mark her territory with such resolve."

"That's why I didn't even sniff. I have no desire to provoke the wrath of an Abriel, particularly not that one."

"Yeah. I think she's ready for the robot hordes, I hope they're ready for her."

Kathryn's expression sobered a bit. "Camin, I really hope we're wrong about all this."

"You and me both. Come on, your ship doesn't leave for a couple of hours. Let's see if they've got a halfway decent bar roundabouts this place."

Next Chapter: Thracia

**Chapter 6 - Thracia**

Warward Demetrius sat under a kilometer of rock and dreamed of having nothing above him but clear blue sky. It had been days since he had seen any kind of sky.

The Thracia Milita Emergency Command Center was dominated by a wide viewer that covered the wall facing his command chair. Right now it showed the same view it had since he started his shift a couple of hours ago, the same thing it had shown since he had entered the Command Center a week ago. It showed the ever-expanding Abh fleet in high orbit around them. More ships had been arriving every day. People were almost starting to get used to it now. He had gotten quite bored with it a long time ago.

He glanced at the chronometer in the command chair's small viewer. _Three, two, one._

"Warward, a signal from the Abh fleet," his comm officer announced crisply in exactly the same way he had the first time, when they had been waiting nervously for the first words from their new neighbor.

"On the main viewer if you please."

"Yes sir."

A new virtual window opened up over the radar display. A young looking man with pale skin and long, wavy sky-blue hair smiled down at the officers in the command center. The face was familiar to them now, and did not elicit the looks of awe and wonder the first time he had addressed them. "Good morning, Warward Demetrius," the uniformed man said pleasantly through the translator.

"Good morning Admiral Halben," Demetrius said cheerily. "I was beginning to worry, you were two seconds late today."

His grin widened. "My apologies, Warward. It has been a busy day for me."

"So I've seen. Traffic control is always tedious, isn't it?"

The commander of the Abh armada laughed. "All too often command is just one tedious task after another, don't you agree?"

"Either that or just sitting around waiting for something to happen. Our daily conversations have become the high point of my day."

"I too have enjoyed our regular chats. Regrettably, I have much to do and a number of looming deadlines, so today I must be brief to the point of rudeness."

"Then I won't take any more of your time. How can I help you Admiral?"

The Admiral did not lose his pleasant smile, but his tone became just a bit more formal. "I am calling to inform you that we are going to have to impose upon your hospitality for another day, Warward."

That had been the "compromise" the Abh had suggested upon their arrival. The local Abh commander would call the Warward each day to inform them that the Abh fleet would be stationed in the Thracia system for another day. The idea was presumably to reassure everyone that this remained a temporary measure which would only last long enough to sort out the mess the idiots in the Federation government had thrown them all into.

"That's fine Admiral. We will continue to restrict our patrols to below geosynchronous orbit so as not to interfere with your operations." That had been the other half of the compromise. What few ships the Thracian Militia had would stay where the Abh could keep an eye on them. Not that it made any practical difference to the Abh, who vastly outnumbered their ships even when the first squadrons had arrived a week ago.

"My thanks, Warward. I must now return to my traffic control duties."

"Have fun, Admiral." The Admiral's face was replaced by the icon indicating end of transmission, and the window on the viewer disappeared. "Is anyone else getting the impression that these people treat their star fleet as a hobby?" That got a chuckle from near everyone in the command center. Talking with Admiral Halben for just a few minutes each day over the past week Demetrius had actually come to like him. He appeared to be very conscientious and was certainly punctual to a fault, but he always left the impression of approaching his mission with a rather lackadaisical attitude. Other Abh officers who had communicated with the command center from time to time for various reasons had left him with a similar impression. They just seemed so blasted happy to be traipsing around the galaxy in steel coffins and armed to the teeth. Demetrius had spent a few years in the Space Militia, but his fondest memories were still of the Coast Guard. _I'll take a ship that puts me on salt water any day._

Some time later the monotony was broken by a call from the Chairman. "Good morning, sir."

"Good morning, Warward." Since it was a private transmission, the Chairman's face appeared on the small screen on the command chair armrest. The Chairman of the Thracia National Council was an elderly man with long white hair and a face that was heavily lined but still sharp-featured. He was the head of state, but for the duration of the emergency the Warward was sharing that responsibility. It was only the third emergency in Thracia's history, and the first in either if their lifetimes, so it was an arrangement they were still getting used to. "I take it the Admiral gave his usual call," the Chairman continued.

"Yes. No change in their status, or in ours. Nothing more than relay ships have come through the Empire Gate since yesterday."

"That's good to know. They're running our antimatter production to capacity already." One of the things the Abh had politely asked for was to purchase unlimited rights to Thracia's antimatter production at a very generous rate. Since commercial traffic off the planet was essentially halted and the Space Militia was stuck in low orbit, it was not really an imposition, and would make the government a tidy profit. So much the better that the Federation government had subsidized the construction of the facility to provide a refueling depot for the Star Fleet.

So much the worse that quite to everyone's surprise half the Star Fleet ships going through here for the past fifty years had been Black Budget ships secretly going to and from the Vensath base. Considering that, the Abh were being very nice indeed.

"They're still being cagey about their plans, though. It looks like they're gearing up for an offensive. The question is, which way?"

The Chairman nodded gravely. Either towards Vensath, or towards the core Hania systems. If the latter, then all bets were off regarding Thracia's future. There were already many in the civil government screaming that they should just join the Empire now and have done with it. Demetrius had some sympathy for that view. It was more or less an accident that Thracia had become part of the Hania Federation. A Federation Star Fleet exploration vessel had opened one of the Gates in the system a hundred years ago, and soon after they had become part of the Federation. Thirty years later, the second Gate in the system had opened and an Abh warship had appeared. That had been in Demetrius' grandfather's day, and had been the second emergency in Thracia's history. History recorded that when informed the planet was part of the Federation, the Abh commander had politely apologized for the intrusion and gone back to Plane Space. That Gate had never been used again until a week ago.

"I don't like it, but I think we'll have to do the same for now," the Chairman said. "It's too early to show our cards."

"I agree." Both about the not liking it and the necessity of it. If the Abh knew about the sort of assets they had well hidden on both on the planet and on the moon base, they might be a lot more nervous about having their fleet floating in such easy striking distance. For that matter, the Federation Star Fleet might have been a bit more nervous about refueling their ships in close proximity to such formidable assets under the control of an independent militia.

Remarkably, the Chairman smiled. There had been little reason for him to do that in the past few days. "The news feeds from today's relay ship had an interesting item."

"Oh? I've read the dispatches, nothing really caught my eye."

"Not the dispatches, the public feeds. Have a look at the Star's lead item."

The Star was not Demetrius' idea of news, but he unfolded the larger screen from his other armrest and brought up the news feed. His jaw dropped down. Then he started laughing out loud. Officers who had been out of earshot of his quiet conversation with the Chairman turned in puzzlement. "Well, now we know what they've been up to with this Joint Investigation of theirs." The picture was lurid even by Star standards. But parts of the anatomically correct robots had been blotted out. Presumably the uncensored pictures were available for a decryption fee.

The Chairman's smile became bitter. "Days of silence, and now this. They even put the Abh investigators in danger. It just numbs my mind, what in hell are they thinking over there?"

"If the Abh didn't already know that the Federation government is run by idiots then this must remove any doubt."

"It actually makes it more plausible that the government could have lost an entire fleet for two years and not even know it. I suppose that works in our favor."

"Right. Incompetence, not malice. I wonder if I should send this picture to the Admiral?"

"Let's not push our luck, Warward."

The news actually made Demetrius' day. Other than a photo-op with the President the three Abh investigators had been essentially invisible for days and the Investigation Bureau had been all but silent. Now it turns out they had been confiscating expensive love toys. What next, breaking an underground Abh-fetish porn ring?

He was just about to break for lunch when the radar operator hailed him. "They're redeploying their fleet, sir."

"What, again?"

"I mean their _whole_ fleet, sir. And in a hurry, too."

The overcast of radar blips changed rapidly. The computer attached colored lines to each blip representing speed, acceleration and projected path. The blips were all suddenly sprouting long lines like rows of wheat coming up in fast motion. And all the lines were pointing in one direction. "They're headed into the Federation Gate. Bring us to defense condition three."

"Defcon three, aye." They had been at defcon two since the Star Fleet command had sent them a note telling them that the Abh would be showing up and why. Since their arrival and their declaration that they had no interest in violating Thracia's neutrality, this had been the first time the Warward felt the need to bring the Militia up to a higher alert level.

Demetrius settled into his command chair and silently watched the exodus of ships. He still had little idea what the Abh had been waiting for, and based on the dispatches the Federation really didn't know either. Either the Admiral just learned something that got him spooked, or he received an order to move out yesterday. Whatever it was, the waiting was clearly now over.

Demetrius smiled to himself. "Looks like they're not even going to say good-bye."

# # #

Jinto was really developing a distaste for cramped relay ships. Only the good company was able to make it into a pleasant trip. Once again he and his companions had a ship designed for more passengers to themselves, and the cabin had been configured to give optimal comfort for three people. Well, two people and one Mimic. He really had to wonder what the Hania spaceport supply crew had thought of the request for ten gallons of ethanol on a ship being configured for three passengers. Abh resistance to alcohol was well known, perhaps they had thought it took that much for a couple of Abh to really party.

In fact there was nothing like partying going on. Lafiel seemed determined to keep them both busy either helping Miriam with her Baronh lessons or fine-tuning their simulations of Vensath base production capacity. They had been engaged in the former for a while, but somehow they had got to swapping stories.

"Children were actually the most difficult ones to deal with," Miriam was explaining. "They really don't see robots as being any different than people. Even when they were told I was a maid robot they treated me as if I were just Cory's maid. It was difficult not to respond to that."

"Did you have to deal with children often?" Jinto asked.

"No. Very occasionally we would be visited by Cory's nephew and he would bring along his son and daughter, Cory's grandnephew and grandniece. Like any good maid robot I was expected to watch over the children, and like any children they wanted to play while the grownups talked their boring grownup talk. I wanted so much to treat them as I would my own grandchildren, but I had to keep up my robot persona."

"That must have been difficult," Lafiel said. "One mistake could have uncovered your secret."

"I became adept at method acting. For a time I became a robot."

Lafiel suddenly smiled. "I had to do that once, only I had to pretend to be a doll."

"A doll?"

Lafiel's smile became wicked and she glanced at Jinto. "Shall I tell her, Jinto?"

Jinto resigned himself to it. "I'm sure you're dying to."

It wasn't long before Miriam was laughing. "I'm serious," Lafiel insisted. "Jinto actually told the police officers that I'm a doll."

Miriam stopped laughing. "I'm not doubting your story, Highness. I just can't believe it actually worked."

"It almost didn't," Lafiel assured her. "That incident has now become legendary on the planet Clasbul. Much later when those officers were informed who I was they said they had come very close to dragging Jinto out of the car and taking him into custody for psychiatric treatment. I think he needed it, but thankfully they made the wrong choice and let us past the checkpoint."

"How else was I supposed to explain that you couldn't speak the local dialect?" Jinto asked in his defense.

"I'm a deaf-mute who would not take a cochlea implant for religions reasons. We had a fight and I refuse to speak in your presence. I'm your cousin visiting from another planet where they don't speak a bastardized parody of Baronh. I'm sick and I took a sleeping pill and should not be woken up. I had a serious brain injury and now I'm both simple and mute. I had too much to drink and now I'm sleeping it off. Those are better options I could come up with on just a moment's notice. Miriam, with your experience I'll wager you could think of even better options."

"I'd say pretending that you had a quarrel was the best option," Miriam said. "It would garner some sympathy from the officers, and all you would need to do is look angry."

"Then you're right, that would have been the best option," Jinto said emphatically.

Lafiel's eyes narrowed. "Meaning what?"

"Meaning I agree the doll idea was stupid. What can I say, I panicked. Now is this where I get to tell how I disguised you to look like a local?"

"No, this is my story."

To her credit Lafiel did not leave anything out, even the part about the two of them hiding together in a coffin made for one. There were very few people whom Lafiel had ever told the unabridged version of that story to. It was a testament to how close she and Miriam had become in just this short time. It was good to see, but the analytical part of Jinto's mind had to acknowledge this worked to their benefit. In a way nothing else could, that close relationship would convince their superiors that the Mimics were more than modified robots.

Soon the Baronh lesson resumed, and when Jinto started feeling like a fifth wheel he excused himself. Jinto entered the cockpit of the Federation relay ship. This was a chartered flight so they did not even bother to close the connecting hatch. "Mind if I join you?" He asked the pilot.

The ship's captain smiled. "Of course, Excellency, my pleasure. Please have a seat."

"Thanks." Early in the trip Jinto had dispensed with the bulky outer robe of his formal wear and just wore a casual white jacket over the matching body suit. This allowed him to slip into the copilot's seat with no difficulty. The copilot took the night shift in the cockpit, so he was in the back sleeping at the moment. Like many small ships this one had actual windows in the cockpit. Right now the windows just gave them a panoramic view of the featureless gray space-time bubble that enclosed them. "I've only seen the inside of a space-time bubble through a real window a couple of times before. Don't you find it a bit creepy?"

The Captain's eyebrows came up. He was a thin, brown-skinned man with an ageless face and a ready smile, impeccably polite but very friendly. He had become good company for Jinto whenever Lafiel shooed him away from Miriam's ongoing language and culture lessons. "Not really, Excellency. I've flown small flyers on cloudy nights on my home planet that were more black than this, at least here I know I won't be colliding with anything."

"That's sort of what I mean. A hundred meters in any direction is literally the edge of our little universe. I feel like if I stretch my arms too far I'll get sucked out and flattened."

"It is not an event horizon, Excellency, that is not what would happen." He grinned. "When any pilot starts plane space navigation training the first thing they always look up is what would happen to anybody who drifted out of the space-time bubble. I confess it was the same for me. Would you like to know, in detail?"

"Thanks, I'll pass. I know you end up getting turned into a splash of space-time particles and that's as much as I need to know."

"We have a tradition, you know, among pilots. When we gain our certification, we take a special trip into plane space. We put on a pressure suit, open the outer airlock door and toss a part of ourselves out into the void."

"What part of yourselves?" The Captain told him and Jinto winced. "That's nasty. Here I was picturing a nice, solemn ceremony. As an Abh I should probably object to acts of disrespect against the vast space that cradles us."

"All things pass into the cycles of the universe, whether it is into the soil that nurtures us or the space that embraces us."

"You almost make it sound like an act of reverence."

"More like an act of defiance. Marking our territory, if you will."

"I'll never look at space-time particles on the radar screen in quite the same way."

The Captain laughed. "Most of the particles in Plane Space were here long before we started polluting it. We could dump a billion tonnes of garbage and the difference it makes would not even be detectable. Our ships only show up on the screen at all because we have tuned our instruments to seek them out."

"I remember that much from my Plane Space navigation course." He gestured to the radar screen between them. "Looking at this empty screen, it must be what people felt like on sailing ships on old Earth back before radio, when they saw nothing but ocean to the horizon. You could believe you were the only people in the universe."

"Right now we five people are the only ones in our little bubble universe."

"Right." He did not comment on the fact that the Captain had only counted the three crew and the two Abh passengers. They had been polite enough to Miriam but the awkwardness was apparent. Jinto could not find it in himself to blame them. He was very fond of Miriam but the very idea of Mimics still disturbed him. Something else occurred to Jinto. "Shouldn't we be seeing one of the patrol ships soon?"

"We should have seen one already," the captain said in a more serious tone. "Since the Abh Space Force set up their patrols out of the Thracia Gate they have been like clockwork. We normally would have completed the challenge and response at least two hours ago."

Jinto frowned. "Is it possible we just missed the patrol ships?"

"The patrols have always been within the maximum detection limit of each other. If they maintained that pattern then it would be impossible for us not to come within range of one. I can think of no reason they would break that pattern." He gave Jinto a meaningful look.

"Neither can I," Jinto said in response to the unasked question.

"Had we not encountered a patrol in the next hour I was going to inform you and her Highness."

"I think I'll inform her right now."

Lafiel showed great concern upon hearing this. The two of them went forward to the cockpit to consult with the captain. Jinto took the copilot's seat since that would be awkward for Lafiel in her formal robes, she sat on a jump seat behind them. "How far out are we from the Thracia Gate?" Lafiel asked.

"Five hours," the captain said. "Yesterday when we passed the scheduled returning relay ship we exchanged the usual greetings. They did not indicate anything was amiss. If there were any changes in the patrol schedules they must have happened in the past couple of days, no earlier. At this point I cannot think of any particular reason to be concerned. But if you are unsure of the security of the Thracia Gate we have three alternate destinations, all closer to the core Federation systems."

Lafiel considered that silently for a few moments. "I agree there is no immediate cause of concern. If there were any trouble then if anything the patrol schedule would be redoubled. Please proceed to Thracia as planned. But let us know if anything shows up on radar."

Nothing did show up. As they were approaching the Thracia Gate the captain asked Lafiel to confirm whether she wanted them to continue. "Yes, please do," Lafiel said. "I have a favor to ask. Could you slave the cabin viewer to your radar screen? I would like to see what is on the other side of the Gate when we emerge. Depending on what I see, I might ask you to go straight back into Plane Space. Can you do that?"

"Yes, of course, we will still be well within range of our alternate destinations. I'll wake up the First Officer."

Jinto pulled Lafiel over to a part of the cabin where they could not be overheard. "Do you think something is wrong?" He asked softly.

"I don't know. Obviously something has happened. If the Thracia Gate was compromised the Space Force would have sent warning. But we should be cautious."

They went to sit down in preparation for going through the Gate. As promised, the viewer at the front of the cabin showed the radar display, and the captain opened a communication channel from the cockpit. They came through the Gate and the screen changed from a display of space-time particles in plane space to a display of the ship's active radar in real space. It showed the Gate and one other ship. The icon showed a large ship, at least cruiser class. There was no IFF signature, which meant nothing since this was not a military ship.

"This is the Abh Space Force cruiser Guderian," the speakers said in Abh, which made Jinto relax considerably. What was presumably a text translation in Hanian scrolled on the screen. "We are hailing the vessel which just came through the Gate. Please identify yourself."

Their captain gave their vessel's identification, and as Lafiel had requested he named the two Abh passengers on the ship with a request to contact the local Space Force commander. A moment later a call was forwarded to the screen in front of Lafiel's seat. A uniformed Abh man with short, dark blue hair and a stern, square face regarded them. "Your Highness, your Excellency, I am Kilo-Commander Olseth, currently in command of the Thracia task force. How can I assist you?"

Jinto and Lafiel exchanged glances. A Kilo-Commander? At last report there were at least six half-fleets gathered here under the command of an Admiral. "I am bearing new intelligence which we must deliver to the expeditionary force command as soon as possible," Lafiel said.

"I see. You had best come on board then. I will have a shuttle sent."

That did not take long. When they reached the Guderian, the three of them were immediately escorted to the captain's meeting room. To the shuttle crew and escort Miriam was introduced as a "material witness," which did not prompt any further comment from anybody. Olseth was waiting for them in the meeting room, along with a woman whom he introduced as his chief-of-staff.

Lafiel saluted. "I am Deputy Hecto-Commander Abriel Lafiel," she said, clarifying that she should be addressed by her rank now that she was back aboard a Space force vessel. "This is Vanguard Flyer Linn Jinto. This is Miriam Hender, a material witness in our investigation."

"I am very surprised to see you," Olseth said, sounding like he was annoyed at the intrusion. "I was given to understand that you were in Hania city, still sending regular reports back through the neutral port."

"I came directly here because I felt that what we recently found needed to be forwarded to the local commanders as quickly as possible. I was expecting to find at least several half-fleets here, am I to understand that there are no longer any flag officers in Thracia at all?" Olseth cleared his throat and gave Miriam a meaningful glance.

Miriam stood and bowed. "If you will excuse me, I will wait outside." Without further ado she walked to the door. Lafiel did not look happy, but she did not say anything.

When the guard had closed the door behind Miriam, Olseth continued. "Up until yesterday a substantial portion of the expeditionary force was indeed here in Thracia. They left through the Federation Gate."

"The _Federation_ Gate?" Lafiel exclaimed.

"Yes. They left as part of a coordinated attack on the Vensath system."

"Why?" Lafiel asked. "Did the enemy make a move?"

"No," Olseth said mildly. "It was decided that the best course was to neutralize the threat of the Vensath base as quickly as possible. Your reports were largely the basis for this decision. If you were still in Hania city no doubt you would have been informed of this by yesterday at the latest."

"We made no such recommendation," Lafiel protested.

"No. But the Admiral believed that you had shown beyond doubt that the Black Budget unit commanders at the Vensath base acted without the knowledge of the Federation government. It was felt that striking the base now and returning it to the control of the legitimate Hania government was the surest way to maintain the neutrality of the Federation. The longer we must stay poised on the borders and in the neutral ports, the more their neutrality is threatened." Olseth cocked his head. "Have you uncovered something that might change this assessment?"

"We have identified a possible new threat." Lafiel launched into a highly abbreviated account of what they had learned in their last days in Hania city and what they had concluded might be happening at the Vensath base.

Olseth looked skeptical. "Even if this were true, I don't see how it changes anything."

"As I said, it means that we might be facing a substantially larger force than we had originally thought," Lafiel said, her frustration beginning to show. "The fleet should be warned."

"We would not be able to get a message to the fleet before the attack begins," Olseth said. "In fact if they are on schedule the lead elements will be in sensor range of the Vensath Gate in a matter of hours. Besides, there are contingency plans in case we do meet a much larger force. The Admiral still has not ruled out the possibility of collusion with the Triple Alliance. A great deal has been done to secure against any counterattack. Let me show you."

Olseth brought maps and organization charts onto the table and went into probably more detail than he really needed to. The way he went on you would think this was his plan he was describing. Planning fleet actions was outside Jinto's field, but even he could see this was no hasty attack. It also explained what happened to the patrols: they had not been stopped, they had simply been repositioned closer to the Vensath system as security for the main attack forces.

"I see much has been done to secure against attack from other sectors," Lafiel agreed. "But they are assuming that we have overwhelming superiority in the Vensath system. That could turn out to be false."

"If that does turn out to be the case, then the first wave of the attack can retreat back through the Gate and report," Olseth said. "At worst, we might need to put the Vensath Gate under siege until more forces can be deployed."

He made it sound so simple, but putting a Gate under siege from the Plane Space side was very costly, even Jinto knew that. All ships in Plane Space needed a constant supply of antimatter just to maintain their space-time bubbles, and no static minefields could be laid. What was worse, the supply lines would be very long. Keeping a very large force at bay would be difficult. "It still might be worthwhile for us to take this information to the flagship," Jinto suggested. "If they do encounter an unexpectedly large force at least they will have a better idea what they are dealing with."

"I will certainly send a relay ship with your reports," Olseth said, hardly sparing a glance at the Vanguard Flyer.

"But we should be on that ship!" Lafiel protested.

Olseth looked mildly surprised. "Hecto-Commander, you must surely know I could not do that without orders from the Admiral, who assigned you to your diplomatic mission. By all rights I should send you straight back to Hania city when the relay ship departs. But I don't think it would be abusing my authority to allow you to remain here pending word from the Admiral that you are released from your mission."

Jinto was afraid Lafiel's patience had run out. But she only took a moment to calm herself. "Kilo-Commander, I appreciate that this is highly irregular," she said in a very carefully modulated voice. "But the threat we face is not something that can be adequately summarized in a report." She pointed to the door. "The woman standing in the hallway out there is living proof that all our assumptions about how war can be conducted have just been tossed out the airlock."

Olseth smiled. "Perhaps it is possible a group of traitors in a remote base in Hania have achieved in a few years what nobody else could do in the two thousand years since the first robots and spaceships. But do you really think that's likely, Hecto-Commander?"

Lafiel sat absolutely still. "Commander, I'm afraid I cannot accurately assess the extent of the threat."

"Well then, I will send a relay ship. If you have any message for the Admiral besides what you have already assembled, please record it."

# # #

Lafiel woke up earlier than what she had set her alarm at. The room was very dark, but Lafiel could just make out Miriam seated at the desk of their shared quarters. Just as when Lafiel went to sleep, she was using the terminal at its lowest brightness so as not to disturb Lafiel, making use of the image enhancers in her robot eyes. "Lights," Lafiel said. The room lights gradually brightened.

"Good morning, Highness," Miriam said in Baronh. "I hope I didn't disturb you."

Lafiel sat up on the bed. "No, not at all. Did you get any sleep yourself?"

"Yes, I slept in the armchair."

"I told you that I don't mind sharing the bed."

"I didn't want to wake you. And I am just as comfortable in the chair."

"As you wish." Their sleeping arrangement came about because Olseth would not set aside guest quarters for a material witness, Mimic or otherwise. The only other options he offered was to have Miriam in the brig or just shut down and put in storage, but Lafiel was certainly having none of that. Lafiel smiled. "I see you've put out my uniform again. Thank you."

"My pleasure, Highness."

Lafiel got up and stretched. "I am really astonished by how quickly you are picking up the language. Are you still using enhanced retention?"

"I was, but not right now. I have to be careful not to overuse it."

Miriam had explained about some of the results of Cory's research at the Black Budget research program. Neural net simulations could be tweaked in ways that were impossible or impractical for organic brains. One thing they could do is to essentially dial-up the rate at which rote memorization could be effectively retained. But there were practical limits to how far it could be done. If overused the subject ended up forgetting other related matters and had trouble placing the memorized items in proper context. Nevertheless, when used judiciously it could be very effective, and Reedman had tutored Miriam well.

This was something else that Lafiel really needed to make the Space Force command understand. But how could she do that cooling her heels with the squadron that had been held back to guard the Thracia system?

Lafiel showered, dressed, and offered to help Miriam with some of her verbal Baronh exercises. Before long Jinto came to the door and Lafiel joined him for breakfast. Courtesy demanded that they dine with the bridge officers, which annoyed Lafiel to no end. Olseth had managed to convince all of his officers that Lafiel had spent all her time in Hania shutting down a market in love dolls and then had come to the conclusion that these pretty little robot girls might pose a grave threat to the Empire. However patiently they tried to explain the difference between a robot and a Mimic he seemed determined not to get it. They both ate quickly and excused themselves.

"I would really love to strangle that fool very slowly," Lafiel muttered as she strode quickly down the hallway with Jinto trying to keep up. "He is nothing but an ignorant, pompous, arrogant, insufferable disgrace to the uniform. How did such an idiot ever get a commission in the Space Force?"

"It makes me think the Space Force is really scraping the bottom of the barrel now," Jinto said sadly.

"Scraping the bottom of the human waste reclamation tanks more likely. Can we go to your room?"

"Sure."

Lafiel always found it easier to calm herself when she was with Jinto in private. Nevertheless, she found herself pacing the floor as he sat watching her with his usual calming, sympathetic look. "The damnable thing is that I can see his point," Lafiel went on, knowing that she was rambling but not caring. "From his point of view this must all sound utterly fantastical. I ought to bring Miriam with us next time and introduce her, that would disabuse them of the notion that Mimics are no different than robots. I would do it too, if I weren't so embarrassed to show Miriam that this squadron is being run by a complete fool and his doting lackeys. He won't even take his responsibility as commander seriously, we are stuck here because all he can do is take military protocol as received wisdom which can never be deviated from."

Quietly, Jinto stood up, walked over to her and placed his hands gently on her shoulders. He smiled warmly. "Lafiel, they're going to be fine. The Devastator Squadron isn't even part of the attack, they will be on patrol duty. And the Frikov is in good hands."

Lafiel still marveled at how Jinto could cut straight to the bone. She did not really care whether some idiot with delusions of competence believed what she told him. What she did care about right now was just one thing. "It's my _ship_, Jinto! I should be there."

"I know," he said softly. "I want to be with them too. I'm sure we will be before long."

"Is that the only reason I brought us here, so that I could be commanding my ship again? Am I really that selfish?"

"I don't think so. And Kathryn didn't think so either, otherwise we wouldn't be here."

Lafiel sighed. "If the Admiral had been here and had believed us, he probably would have taken essentially the same action. It makes me feel we have been wasting our time."

"Maybe we did our job all too well. We did what Kathryn said we should do, we showed the Admiral that the threat lay with the Vensath base itself, not with the Federation. They're already taking the threat seriously, I don't think we could ask for much more than that."

"Kathryn. I hope she is getting a better reception with her superiors that we are with ours," Lafiel said sadly.

"I miss her too. And Camin."

Lafiel smiled. "They are both fine people. Kathryn must be just as frustrated over what has happened as I am, but I am sure she is dealing with it more calmly."

"Probably. Age is supposed to bring temperance isn't it?"

Lafiel cocked her head. "And how would you know anything about Kathryn's age?"

Jinto tensed up. "Sorry, I can't tell you her age. I'm sworn to secrecy."

He tried slowly pulling away, but Lafiel grabbed him and pulled him closer. "That doesn't answer my question, Jinto."

He laughed nervously. "It's a piece of information I stumbled upon by luck."

"Stumbling on things by luck seems to be your forte."

"I've always thought that stumbling was the essence of Protean learning."

"Don't change the subject."

"What subject? Ow! What was that for?"

"That was for anything else that you might be sworn to secrecy about."

Jinto just held a hand to his pinched cheek and regarded her with openmouthed bewilderment. It was just too much, Lafiel burst out laughing. "One hundred and ninety," she said brightly.

Jinto sighed. "I should have known."

"Kathryn thought that you couldn't keep a secret to save your life. I'll have to tell her she was wrong about that."

"Is there anything else she told you that I should know about?"

"Some I can tell. Some I'm sworn to secrecy."

A couple of hours later Lafiel was feeling better than she had since leaving Hania. It seemed like it had been forever since the two of them had been able to just talk uninterrupted for this long. They had been so focused on their investigation she had never had a chance to hear his impressions of the things they had seen and the people they had met in Hania. She had assumed as a lander he would find the environment and the behavior of the people much more familiar than she had. But she was surprised to find that their eccentric, remarkable companions had left no less an impression on him than they had on her. Whatever the result of the investigation, neither of them would regret the experience.

"I think what Kathryn said to us when we first met is true," Lafiel said. "The Abh know so little of what goes on in most of the Empire. We only see the lander worlds as a source of vassals and trade. There is no shame in that, but it is so limiting. I think more of us ought to experience the lander worlds firsthand."

Jinto smiled. "It took crash-landing under fire to get you to take your first plunge. And poor Commander Atosuryua had to practically drag you kicking and screaming to Hania."

"I had reason to be reluctant, you nearly died the last time you went to a strange planet."

"Granted. But a few years ago you wouldn't even think of voluntarily going to any planet if you didn't have to. What do you think would happen if you invited any of your family or Abh friends on a trip to the bottom of a gravity well, even to the nicest tropical paradise you can find?"

Lafiel smiled. "My father might accept the challenge just on general principles. But anyone else would either politely decline or tell me that I had lost my mind."

"Take it from me, getting people to expand their horizons is hard work."

"Have I really been that difficult? I like to think that I am flexible."

"You are. In fact in another hundred years I could easily picture you cutting your way through virgin jungles looking for ancient artifacts right alongside Kathryn. But you will always be an eccentric minority, and I doubt we can change that. Maybe that's as much as we can hope for."

Lafiel thought about that for a moment, then met Jinto's eyes again. "I think I understand a little better now, something Kathryn said to me."

"What's that?"

"She said, as long as the irresponsible tread unknown roads, we need not fear."

Jinto smiled. "I like that. Let us both endeavor to be as irresponsible as our duties allow."

Lafiel nodded in agreement. Right now she was thinking of something very irresponsible. Before Lafiel was born, her mother and father had rented a small ship and had gone wandering through Plane Space, looking for unknown Gates. Right now the prospect of just her and Jinto and a ship to explore with was very tantalizing.

The ship's klaxon rang, signaling first stage battle alert. Lafiel shot to her feet without even thinking, ready to run out the door. An instant later she remembered that she did not have any duty station on this ship. She just stood there for a few seconds, clenching her fists in frustration. "Jinto, I'm going to the bridge."

"He won't like it."

"Of course he won't." No commander liked having nonessential personnel on their bridge, certainly not during a battle alert. And Olseth would dislike it worse than most, she was sure. "I have status as a diplomat in this region, that counts for something."

Jinto nodded. "There's less likely to be trouble if only one of us goes."

Lafiel smiled. He said that even though he was just as desperate to know what was happening as she was. "Thank you, Jinto." She palmed the door open and ran.

Incredibly, Commander Olseth was not on the bridge when she arrived there, his XO was in command. She did not even notice Lafiel's arrival. A look at the main viewer told Lafiel the basic situation. An unknown ship had just come through the Federation Gate. No IFF, a small cruiser by the looks of the blip.

"We've got a camera locked on it," the radar operator announced.

"On the screen," the XO ordered.

A magnified camera view of the ship replaced the radar image. "It's one of ours," the radar operator announced as he was trained to do, knowing full well that any Space Force officer would know this as a Lauth-class cruiser.

Or rather what was left of it.

"They've purged their armor," the operator continued, something that they could all see. "Electromagnetic guns have been lost or jettisoned. Spectrographic analysis shows they're venting coolant, air, reaction mass..." He shook his head, losing his air of detachment for the first time. "They're venting gases from all over. Most of the ship must be in vacuum."

"I can see a hole straight through their hull," the XO said in amazement. "They must have taken a direct antiproton blast amidships! How the hell did they navigate this wreck through Plane Space? Comm officer!"

"Hailing, still no reply," the female officer at the comm station said crisply. If the ship could not even transmit IFF then most of their comm gear must be down.

Olseth chose this moment to stride onto the bridge, slicking back hair that was still wet and buttoning up his jacket. "What the hell is going on?" He bellowed. The XO gave him a full report, which brought the rest of the bridge to silence. Lafiel had already gathered he had a real problem with more than one person speaking at a time. He took his chair. "Well, report!"

"There was a gamma-ray spike a minute ago," the radar operator said quickly. "They've dumped their remaining antimatter. They're accelerating using maneuvering jets, probably getting ready to eject life pods." That made sense, you did not launch boats right where you had just dumped tonnes of ionized antimatter into space.

"Sir, we're being hailed," the comm officer said. She turned to look at the Kilo-Commander. "Commander, it's on the Q-band."

"The Q-band?" Olseth said as if she had told him they were using semaphores. Which would have been only slightly more surprising. The Q-band was used by very low-power transmitters for analog audio-only transmissions. "Let's hear it."

The bridge was filled with static "-immediate assistance. Most of our life pods are inoperable and we have many wounded. I repeat, we are requesting immediate-"

"That's enough," Olseth said. "Send a reply that we are dispatching all our shuttles." He gave orders to pull in closer to the stricken ship and make all the shuttles ready. Properly he should have asked the other ship to identify itself, but he at least had enough sense to know this was not a time to stand on ceremony. After they had received acknowledgment that the shuttles were away Olseth seemed to notice Lafiel for the first time. "What are you doing here?" He asked coldly.

Lafiel saluted smartly. "I thought if the emergency involved trouble with the local Hania forces my diplomatic status might be of use. I deeply apologize for the intrusion."

Olseth just grunted, as if he decided it was easier to let her stay than to order the unwanted annoyance off his bridge. Reports from the rescue operations began streaming in. They were even more appalling than expected. The situation was chaotic, but it appeared that at least half the crew was dead or missing. "I have their captain on a line relayed through one of our shuttles," the comm officer announced. Olseth gestured to put it on the main viewer. A window opened on the viewer showing a woman seated in a command chair. Her face was streaked with soot and sweat. The air was hazy and she wore a breathing mask. "I am Hecto-Commander Bahsen, fifty-third squadron, twelfth fleet," she said, her voice muffled by the mask.

Olseth identified himself in turn. "We are assisting the evacuation of your ship as best we can, is there something more we can do for you?"

"No, as soon as I have word that the rest of the crew is evacuated I will be evacuating with the bridge crew and ship's log. I'm calling to inform you of a threat to the Thracia system. The attack on the Vensath system has failed. The enemy launched a heavy mine attack through the Gate, destroying most of the ships in the first wave of the attack. A very large force of cruisers and assault ships then emerged from the Gate. The Admiral called for a general withdrawal covered by a screening force."

Lafiel shivered. In the context of a general withdrawal, the term "screening force" was a euphemism for a small delaying force that was left behind to buy time for the rest of the fleet to withdraw. Such a force was certain to be overwhelmed and annihilated. Lafiel hoped she would never have to give such an order.

"How large was their fleet?" Olseth asked.

"By the time we were out of sensor range we counted seven hundred squadrons, and more were still emerging from the Gate."

Everyone on the bridge was struck dumb. Lafiel felt sick to her stomach. _Seven hundred squadrons?_ That was ten times their initial invasion force! It was at least three times the strength of the local Abh forces. "Mimics..." Somebody whispered. Olseth glanced at Lafiel and she nodded gravely. _Yes, they're using Mimics. Thousands, maybe a million._

"What is the threat to the Thracia system?" Olseth asked.

"Most of our fleet withdrew to the border, and most of the enemy pursued. But they also sent a number of squadrons to try and trap our patrol ships that were caught on the far side of the Vensath Gate, my ship among them. A number of us made a run for the Thracia Gate. The enemy launched mines then pursued with assault ships. We destroyed their assault ships, but mine was the only patrol ship to survive. We saw at least five squadrons of cruisers still pursuing. Their lead ships will be here in no more than three hours."

Five squadrons. Not a hundredth of the enemy's total strength, but more than enough to easily overwhelm the token force that had been left here. Olseth's eyes glazed over. Lafiel had seen that look before, usually in officers who were facing their first life-and-death command decision. His mind had gone blank. He had no idea what to do.

"Commander, we're being hailed by Warward Demetrius," the comm officer reported.

Olseth looked like he had just come out of a trance. "What? The Warward? Okay. Commander.. Uh, Bahsen, thank you for your report, please join me on the bridge with your ship's log when you arrive." Bahsen nodded and the transmission ended. "What the hell does the lander want?" Olseth barked.

"He just says he wants to speak with you and he has sent some data. It's... Well, here it is Commander." The main screen was replaced with maps of Thracia Prime and its moon. Standard military icons pointed out the location and strength of military assets on both planets. Very considerable military assets.

"What the hell...?" Olseth breathed.

Lafiel understood what had just happened, and saw her chance. "He could have destroyed this squadron any time he wanted to," she said. He could still do it too, the rest of the squadron was orbiting Thracia Prime. She had Olseth's attention now. "The Warward has put his cards on the table and declared which side he is on. We need his help to hold this system. If we don't, it becomes a back door into the Kuryuuvu kingdom. Sir."

Olseth desperately wanted a way to share the responsibility of command. With the Warward's timely help, Lafiel had just given him one. "Put the Warward's call on the main viewer," Olseth said.

A window opened, showing a big, thickset man with curly black hair and beard. He sat at a command chair, wearing a dark blue uniform and a white, flat-topped hat with black shade. Lafiel had reviewed the briefs on Thracia and knew who the Warward was, but this was her first time seeing him. "Commander Olseth, thank you for speaking with me at what must be a very busy time for you," he said through the translator. "I will get right to the point. We have confirmed the arrival of a Kauth-class cruiser through the Federation Gate. From its state I presume your attack on the Vensath base met some resistance. I am not asking you to confirm or deny. I simply want you to be assured that we are prepared to defend Thracia from the traitors who broke the peace between the Federation and the Empire. We are open to any suggestion for a joint defense. I realize that your rescue operation takes priority right now, but I think the sooner we start coordinating our efforts the better."

Olseth nodded. "Thank you, Warward. As you say, we must complete rescue operations. I will contact you again at the earliest opportunity."

Demetrius smiled. "When the emergency is over I will likely go on trial for what I have done today. I do hope you will make it worth my while. I will await your reply." The transmission ended.

Attention returned to the rescue operation. In a matter of minutes it was confirmed that the evacuation was completed. Olseth sighed heavily. "What did the Warward mean about going on trial?" He asked nobody in particular.

"The Warward shares power with the Chairman of the Thracia Council in time of emergency," Lafiel said. It looked like Olseth did not even take the minimum interest in lander affairs one should expect from somebody tasked with securing a lander world and its environs. "When the emergency is over, he will lose that power and can be arrested if the Chairman felt he overstepped his bounds during the emergency. Sharing detailed tactical information with what amounts to a foreign occupation force is at the very least questionable. The Warward decided it is justified now, but the civil government might have a different opinion later. His power is not absolute even now, so we might need to be cautious not to compromise his position."

Olseth frowned. "What do you mean?"

Lafiel was literally thinking on her feet. "If I may, I think we should leverage my diplomatic status in the Federation. If you appoint me as liaison and send me to Thracia Prime that would establish that we are still treating Thracia as part of the neutral Federation, not as a realm of the Empire."

Some of Olseth's aplomb was returning. "That makes good sense, Hecto-Commander," he said. "Perhaps your coming here was not a waste of time after all. Very well, I am assigning you as our liaison to the Warward. Since Vanguard Flyer Linn Jinto also has diplomatic status you can take him as your assistant." He smiled. "And you might as well take that doll with you too, otherwise they might not believe you when you tell them what we're fighting."

Lafiel saluted. "Thank you sir, I think that's a fine idea. With your permission, I will share all strategic information and ask the Warward's advice on a defense plan. They no doubt have contingency defense plans already prepared, it is likely to help you prepare our defense."

"Permission granted." He turned to his XO, who had been nervously shifting her attention between monitoring the concluding rescue operations and listening to her commander's conversation. "When can we have a shuttle ready?"

"We have one in bay three that will be finished debarking survivors and released from rescue duty shortly. Including prep time, it can be ready in twenty minutes."

"Hecto-Commander, presuming the Warward accepts my suggestion of making you our liaison, that's how long you have to get to bay three with everything you need."

"Yes sir!" Lafiel saluted and walked briskly from the bridge. She went straight to Jinto's quarters and opened the door. He stood up as she entered. "Lafiel, what-" She walked straight up to him and embraced him, holding him fiercely. She let out a deep breath and let her body relax. He did not say a word, he just returned her embrace and held her gently. A few moments later she loosened her hold on him and looked into his eyes. "It's started," she said softly. Then she spoke with more urgency. "Pack your bags, we're leaving. I'll explain along the way."

Next Chapter: Command Decisions


	4. Chapter 07 & 08

**Chapter 7 - Command Decisions**

It was difficult for Lafiel to think of anything that could only travel across or under the water as a ship. But that was what they were calling this enormous thing that was sliding through the water in front of her. Red lights flashed all around her in time with warning sirens that echoed through the cavernous underground base. The Warward had explained that the ship - submarine, to be more exact - was leaving the base at a rather reckless speed, hence the sirens. To Lafiel's eyes it appeared to be moving at a sedate pace. But she could appreciate the danger of moving such a vessel too quickly. The entrance that led through the cliff-face out to the open sea was very wide. But she realized most of the vessel was under the water, so it did not have quite as much maneuvering room as it appeared to.

A man in a flight suit standing on the streamlined tower which topped the submarine waved at them as he passed. The Warward waved back. "That's Alex," he said. "The squadron commander."

"I see." Lafiel decided to wave a greeting as well. She was in her formal white robe again, so even if her long blue hair was not a dead giveaway he should figure out who it was returning the courtesy even at this distance. "It's a shame there was no time to meet, if this goes as planned we will be joining in a very dangerous battle."

"We are on a tight schedule," the Warward reminded her.

They stood with Jinto and Miriam behind the railing of an open, raised platform which gave them a panoramic view of this underground coastal base. As she watched, a dozen huge hatches along both sides of the submarine's flat deck slowly began to close. Through each great round hatchway she could see the blunt nose of what looked like an enormous missile. But she knew each of them actually cradled a small assault ship. "You really launch these from under the water?"

"Yes, Highness. We do that when we want to achieve maximum surprise."

"Hopefully we will achieve just that." She had briefly reviewed the specs of these ship. They were fusion-powered, so in place of an antiproton gun they had a single electromagnetic cannon each, launching a very limited supply of thermonuclear warheads. They would need the element of surprise and considerable help to prevail against antimatter-driven warships.

A sonic boom echoed from the clear blue sky that she could glimpse through the wide entrance. "It appears that your transport has arrived as scheduled," the Warward said. "I must say that was an impressive bit of improvisation."

"Happily, our support squadron appears to have come through." Unloading and reloading a heavy transport in less than an hour was quite impressive, especially for a green crew. And especially considering the cargo they had to secure at a moment's notice. Olseth had been dubious about this part of the Warward's plan, and Lafiel had to admit it was very unorthodox. But she had immediately seen its merit, and managed to convince the Kilo-Commander to go along. Lafiel's shuttle had landed at this base just on time for the Warward to meet them and bring them to watch the departure of the submarine carrying the Thracian assault ship squadron. Lafiel felt a bit more at ease after having seen the vessel with her own eyes. _Launching from under water. What next?_

What next was the reason for the submarine's hasty departure. They had to make room here for the Abh Space Force transport that had just splashed down distressingly close to the shoreline. Looking through the entrance to the open sea, she could see the Thracian submarine steering to make way for it. The vessel was already sinking under the water, which was apparently very deep even that close to shore.

"Our traffic control crew are very nervous," the Warward said, listening through his earpiece. "They were afraid your pilot was planning to fly straight into the base."

Lafiel smiled. They had met Warward Demetrius less than an hour ago. But the positive impression of him that Lafiel had gleaned from reports of the Space Force dealings with him over the past few days had already been very much reinforced. They were effectively putting the defense of Thracia in his hands, and she now felt even more confident that it was in very good hands. Whether the rest of their combined forces could measure up was another matter.

A meter-high wave rolled in through the wide base entrance, attesting to how close the splashdown of the transport really had been. "I once directed an evacuation where this class of transport was landed even closer to the shore," Lafiel said.

"And those waters were full of refugees on small rafts," Jinto added. "Compared to what we had to do on Lobnar, this seems routine."

The Warward laughed. "If this strikes you as being routine then seven years of war must have already made the Abh Space Force very jaded."

"There is nothing routine about what we will likely be doing in the next few hours," Lafiel reminded them sternly.

"Very true. This Silent Enemy could have many surprises in store for us. But judging from your encounters with them to date they are themselves not immune to tactical surprise."

Clearly the Warward had reviewed the intelligence data from the Space Force in the short time since Lafiel had transmitted it to him. "Mimics are in every way like the humans whose brains were scanned. Even if most of their crew are Mimics they will behave in every way like their human counterparts." Lafiel glanced over at Miriam. "I brought Miriam with me exactly to try and make everybody understand this."

The Warward looked thoughtfully at Miriam. When first introduced, Lafiel had asked Miriam to briefly describe her experience with the Black Budget program to the Warward. As Lafiel had hoped, it had left him just disturbed enough to underscore the severity of the threat they faced. Now he was a believer too. "Miriam, may I ask you something?"

"Of course, Warward."

"Did Mister Reedman ever speak of the possibility of running neural nets at higher speeds to improve reaction time?"

"He said the idea had been considered but abandoned. Simulating all the relevant aspects of brain functions in real time already taxes the limits of a neural net like mine. He said they might speed up the processing by two or three times at the most. The faster neural net would be too large to fit in a regular body, and there would be other serious technical problems."

"I guess that's good news," the Warward said. "If they could think twenty times faster than us we would really be in trouble."

Lafiel looked at the Warward with newfound respect. "I confess your question is not something I had even considered in the days since I have learned of Mimics. I am very glad that you are on our side, Warward."

He grinned. "The way we see it, you're on our side."

The Space Force transport sailed in through the wide entrance at a pace somewhat slower than that at which the submarine had just left. It looked bigger than the submarine because most of it was above the water. In fact it barely cleared the top of the entranceway. Already the clamshell doors in its bow were opening up. Through it Lafiel could glimpse the bows and sterns of the assault ships that were packed in the hold. She had already heard confirmation through her tiara earphone that the packed ships had come unscathed through the transport's reentry and splashdown. That came as a considerable relief. They had been secured in a hurry, so she had been worried about that.

"Now that we've come down to it, I have to admit it makes my skin crawl having that much antimatter down here on the surface," the Warward said.

"The Abh have been handling antimatter for over a thousand years, Warward. Anything that could breach the ships' containment tanks would also destroy this base anyway," Lafiel assured him. Which was really saying something. She was sure that nothing less than a direct hit from an antimatter mine would destroy this base. As the transport cleared the entrance multiple blast doors began to slowly close behind it, each one many meters thick.

Lafiel wanted the assault ship squadron commander to report to her as soon as the transport docked, so she activated the wristband holographic display to review the crew roster. She did not even know who the squadron commander was, that was how quickly things had moved in the past couple of hours. A series of crew profiles flashed across her screen as she quickly reviewed them.

_Oh dear._ "Warward, would you agree that our plan depends upon our assault ship squadron being able to act quickly with considerable flexibility and initiative?"

"I would venture to say that is the lynch pin of our plan, Highness."

"Then we have a problem. This is a training squadron from the academy. Normally their instructor would have taken command when it was called out as part of the expeditionary force. But he was unavailable so the senior student was given temporary command. Vanguard Flyer Larych Aruje has twenty hours simulation time and most of her experience with actually commanding a vessel has been while waiting here in Thracia."

"It would be rather much to expect her to command the squadron in this operation," the Warward said diplomatically. "Having somebody with actual combat experience would be essential." He gave her a meaningful look.

"I have been assigned the task of being your liaison, Warward."

"I have been thinking that the commander of the lunar base also ought to have a Space Force liaison." Their plan involved the assault ship squadron landing on the lunar base as soon as its mission was completed.

Lafiel exchanged a look with Jinto. He kept a neutral expression, but it was obvious that he did not like the idea any better than she did. Since he did not say anything, he clearly could not see any alternative either. "Let me contact my superiors." Lafiel moved to a part of the platform where she could speak in private. Through her wristband communicator she got in touch with Olseth's chief of staff. She had experience relaying bad news to her commander, and from what Lafiel had seen she did it well. Lafiel explained the situation to her then waited a couple of minutes. Olseth called her back and they spoke briefly.

Lafiel rejoined the group. "I have been given command of the squadron. I think it would be courteous of us to meet Flyer Larych at the dock to inform her."

They took an elevator down to the dock level, where a small open cart with driver was waiting for them. By the time he drove them to the dock there was a lot going on. The transport had just been moored and a number of Abh officers had disembarked down the ramp which extended out from the ship's cargo deck. Some were already speaking with base personnel about unloading the assault ships, and heavy ground transports were being rolled in. Even for a base designed to load assault ships into submarines, this was going to be a challenge. One Abh officer strode towards the cart as it came to a stop. Lafiel recognized her from her picture in the roster. She came to a halt in front of Lafiel and saluted. "Vanguard Flyer Larych Aruje reporting as ordered, Hecto-Commander."

Larych was a short woman with a slight build and long medium-blue straight hair. Her solemn, stern demeanor masked eagerness and nervousness that were barely contained. Lafiel felt a tightness in her chest. _This was me, five years ago._ Landers often said that all adult Abh looked the same age. Only the Abh themselves and insightful people who had lived among them for years knew differently. The woman before her was barely an adult. The Larych clan name marked her as one of the original Abh clans, and her family name and title marked her as the daughter of a Duke. In so many ways her experience must have been very similar to Lafiel's. What Lafiel had to do now was heartbreaking.

Lafiel saluted. "I am Hecto-Commander Abriel. I apologize for the short notice but there has been a change of plan. I will be accompanying you on your mission and to the moon base."

"Will you be taking command of the mission?" Larych asked. Both the relief and the disappointment were likely hidden to everyone but Lafiel.

"That is correct. I will be taking command of the squadron, the approval just came through minutes ago."

"If I might suggest, please take command of my vessel. I would be honored to serve as your deputy commander."

That was surprising. Lafiel had been intending to choose another ship to take command of and leave Larych with command of her ship. But having her with Lafiel would be useful. She seemed conscientious enough, she could likely bring Lafiel up to speed on the people she was about to lead into battle. "Thank you, Vanguard Flyer, I will do as you suggest. Please assemble the ships' captains here, after I speak with the Warward I would like to address them."

"Yes, commander!" She saluted and headed back toward the transport.

"I will need to head back to the command center soon," the Warward said.

"I understand," Lafiel said. She turned to Jinto. She was leaving him on a strange planet again. Had this become her curse? There were many things she wanted to tell him, all of them personal and selfish. But there was just no time. "Jinto, I am making you our liaison with the Warward. Please serve him well. And take good care of Miriam for me."

Jinto smiled and saluted. "You can count on me, Lafiel."

Lafiel allowed herself a fond smile in return. "I never doubted it," she said softly. "Miriam, I am sorry to be abandoning you like this."

Miriam smiled. "You have never done any such thing, Highness. Have a safe journey."

"Thank you. Warward, I am leaving very dear friends of mine in your hands."

He returned her salute, which for the Thracians meant a fist held over his heart. "I accept them under my protection," he said formally. Then he smiled. "Good hunting, Highness."

Lafiel watched as the cart took the three of them off the docks and into a tunnel that would lead them to where the Warward's personal transport awaited. In the midst of the scores of people and the frenzy of activity around her, Lafiel felt more alone than she ever had in her life. As soon as the cart disappeared down the tunnel she turned back toward the transport. The wheeled cradle that held the nearest assault ship was being hooked up to a huge transport truck using a universal adapter. A moment later it was being slowly pulled out of the hold. On another part of the ramp Larych along with seven other Abh officers in the uniforms of Vanguard Flyers emerged and walked down to the dock. Lafiel sighed. Even in the short time that they probably had there were some things she could tell them that would help them stay alive in the coming hours. But most of what they needed to know could not be taught, it would have to be learned the hard way. It was very likely that many of them would not learn quickly enough.

Now it was time to at least make it sound like she knew what she was doing. Lafiel walked towards the officers of her new command.

# # #

The news came as they were in the large elevator descending to the command center a kilometer below the surface. The Warward used the elevator's communications terminal, so Jinto's translator was able to hear it. Hundreds of mines had just emerged from the Federation Gate. "If we really are facing five squadrons of mostly cruisers that's pretty much all their mines," Warward Demetrius said.

Jinto's tiara had an open link with Kilo-Commander Olseth's comm officer. He relayed the fact that they were aware of the development. One of Jinto's first tasks upon landing at the surface entrance to the base had been talking with the chief communications officer to establish this permanent link. There were other means for the Thracian and Abh forces to communicate, so operationally this link was not critical. Jinto's true role was unspoken but understood, he was here to confirm that the Warward was really doing what he said he was doing. A Thracian officer had just arrived on Olseth's bridge to play a similar role, something that Lafiel had thought to suggest just before they left the Guderian. However friendly their relations might be, this was an alliance that had been formed literally hours ago. Both parties needed to give and receive some collateral. He was here to politely keep an eye on Demetrius, just like the armed military police officers who had been silently shadowing him and Miriam since they arrived at the base were there to politely keep an eye on them.

The command center looked very much as Jinto expected. Demetrius' command chair was on a raised area a few steps above and looking over the main area where a dozen officers sat at rows of stations. The wall in front of them was dominated by a wide viewer screen. Right now it showed a tactical display of the space around Thracia Prime. In normal space Gates looked like spheres of phosphorescent blue gas and behaved much like other celestial bodies. A long time ago the two Gates in this system had been coaxed into an orbit that kept them on opposite sides of Thracia Prime, the only inhabited planet in the system. Well, almost the only one. Thracia Prime had a small moon six hundred kilometers across which orbited at a distance of about two light-seconds. The Gates themselves were each about ten light-seconds away, so the display was showing an area of space about six million kilometers across.

The Thracian icons used to identify objects were different than what Jinto was used to, but knowing what he did about the situation it was simple enough to grasp the important points. Most of the Space Force cruisers had just finished deploying a number of mines around the Imperial Gate and were heading back to high orbit over Thracia Prime. The mines were there as a bit of misdirection, making the enemy think that they wanted to secure the gate because they were expecting reinforcements soon. Which unfortunately they were not. The Guderian and one other cruiser was in the vicinity of the Federation Gate, though not close enough to be endangered by the mines. As expected, having detected nothing in close proximity to the Gate, the enemy mines had halted and reverted to a static minefield. Nobody needed to be told this was an opening move to secure the Gate for the arrival of the enemy's main force.

They did not have long to wait. In rapid succession, one ship after another emerged from the Gate. The computers soon replaced the radar blips with icons identifying them as Federation cruisers. "The red shows they are using obsolete IFF signatures," Demetrius explained. After the Black Budget debacle had been exposed, the entire Federation Star Fleet and all local militias had changed to new encrypted IFF signals. Any ship transmitting the old signals would be assumed to be part of the conspiracy. So the new arrivals were making no attempt to conceal their identity as a unit from the Vensath base.

The Guderian and her sister ship were headed back to join the rest of the Space Force cruisers in the vicinity of Thracia Prime. It would look like they had been surprised by the size of the enemy force. No doubt the enemy knew there was one Space Force cruiser that had managed to make it to the Thracia Gate and give warning. But they would have little idea how much intelligence the crippled ship was able to pass on. Considering the state of their radar, it was a miracle they were able to pass on the amount of information they did.

The enemy ships formed up ranks and quickly came in pursuit. One of the officers confirmed what the radar icons were showing. "Four squadrons of cruisers. Three squadrons of smaller ships. Some support ships are holding back at the Gate."

"The smaller ships will be escort ships," the Warward said to Jinto. At least we are hoping they are not assault ships, he did not need to add. The surviving Space Force patrol ship had indicated they destroyed all the assault ships that had been sent against them, hopefully that really had been all of them.

The Space Force cruisers all made for the radar shadow behind Thracia Prime. This was a tactic the enemy would be expecting. It could mean that the Abh intended to ambush them with a larger force, or that they were looking for advantageous terrain. When faced with a superior force, being close to a large planet offered advantages. It left the larger force with fewer options for taking advantage of their superior numbers. And coordinating combat operations of a large number of ships close to a planetary atmosphere and gravity well was more difficult. The enemy ships did what they were expected to do: they broke up into two groups to swing around opposite sides of Thracia Prime, to expose the radar shadow before they moved in. This would confirm to them that the only other forces in the area were two Thracian light cruisers in low orbit over Thracia Prime. The Thracians gave the descending Space Force ships a wide berth, but stayed in position to monitor them. Exactly what one would expect from a neutral party in the vicinity of an impending battle. Both pincers of the enemy ships converged on the Space Force cruisers. No ships were diverted anywhere else. It would seem they had decided to finish off the cruisers quickly before securing the Imperial Gate, the antimatter production plants closer to the sun or anything else. With a four-to-one advantage in cruisers alone that was something they should be able to do handily.

There had been no transmission from the enemy. The Silent Enemy was holding its silence.

"Comm officer, give me all open channels," Demetrius ordered. He continued in a voice that made Jinto want to stand at attention. "This is Warward Demetrius of the Thracian Militia, representing the Hania Federation, to all ships now approaching Thracia Prime. The Abh Space Force ships have descended below geosynchronous orbit and are therefore now in violation of the terms of the neutral port. If the Abh Space Force ships do not halt their descent we will be forced to take appropriate actions to secure our airspace. This is your last warning." He signaled for the transmission to end.

The Space Force cruisers continued to descend towards the planet and the enemy continued to pursue. The Warward gave a new set of orders. A minute later a large number of new signals appeared rising from the surface. They were scores of missiles launched from a dozen submarines out at sea. The surface batteries deployed across the land were little more than a token force, making Thracia look like a lightly defended planet. But the submarine forces that nobody else had known about until today were a different matter altogether. The enemy squadrons halted their descent, no doubt waiting for the unexpected intervention of the local forces to finish off the Abh ships for them.

Jinto received a query from the Guderian. "Yes, I see your IFF signals being displayed on the command center display." And if that were also part of a trick the Warward had concocted to betray them, they were now well and truly finished.

The missiles advanced straight through the descending Abh squadron and the Warward signaled to transmit on the open channels again. "This is Warward Demetrius to the ships transmitting obsolete Federation identification signals. I regret to inform you that you are also in violation of our airspace." He signaled to end transmission and grinned at Jinto. "I hope at least their commander isn't a Mimic, because if not I think his blood pressure just went up a few points."

And mine has gone down a few points, Jinto thought. For better or worse the Thracians had committed themselves. Nobody could doubt now whose side they were on.

The enemy ships went into a defensive position, with the smaller ships positioned to receive the missile barrage first. That confirmed they were escorts. The small ships had no main battery like an antiproton cannon or an electromagnetic rail gun. They just had arrays of laser batteries designed to defend against mines and missiles. The missiles approaching now were powered by fusion rockets, which made them a lot slower and less maneuverable than ones powered by antimatter. Three squadrons of escorts would likely be able to dispatch most of the missiles.

Only they had something else to worry about: the Abh cruisers had suddenly wheeled about and headed straight for them, right behind the missiles. The enemy cruisers raced to support the smaller ships, which would be easy targets for the Space Force cruisers. One of the enemy escorts blossomed into a cloud of plasma. "First blood," the Warward said with much satisfaction.

Jinto received a report from the Guderian. "The Kilo-Commander has given the order for his squadron to proceed to the next phase," he relayed.

"Thank you, Excellency." The room became very tense as the two forces converged. The escorts were in relative disarray, so they let about half the missiles through to plow into the enemy cruisers. The cruisers had their own defensive batteries, but not as strong as the escorts. One cruiser exploded, then another, then another. Then they started exchanging fire with the Space Force cruisers. The Guderian and the rest of the squadron continued to accelerate straight through the enemy formation, passing them at high relative speed. There would be little chance to bring major weapons to bear.

But the enemy took what chance they had. One of the Abh ships started falling behind. Chatter on Jinto's channel confirmed it had been crippled. Three enemy cruisers closed on it, and a moment later it was gone. The rest of Olseth's squadron emerged from the fray relatively unscathed, continuing to accelerate away from the planet. Only one down, that was better than they had expected.

Demetrius gave a new set of orders, and the Thracian submarines launched a second wave of missiles. No longer threatened by the Abh cruisers, the enemy escorts deployed to receive the second missile attack. The enemy cruisers pulled away from them to pursue the retreating Space Force ships. The Thracian cruisers had accelerated to intercept and join up with the Space Force squadron, so there was nothing left in the vicinity of Thracia Prime to keep the escorts from doing their job.

Nothing, that is, except for Lafiel's new assault ship squadron.

"We've confirmed that the Space Force assault ships have launched," the comm officer announced. Their IFF signatures appeared on the radar. Jinto rubbed his sweating palms on his white robe. One of those blips was Lafiel and a bunch of cadets fresh out of the academy, accelerating madly straight behind the wave of Thracian missiles. They would be outnumbered, but they did have one crucial advantage. Assault ships had antiproton cannons and the enemy escorts did not. Unless they withdrew or received support soon, the escorts would be meat on the table.

Lafiel's ships broke into groups of two and selected targets from the widely spaced escorts to double up on. The targeted ships and nearby ones saw the danger and tried to move away, leaving gaps for more missiles to fly through to the retreating cruisers. But the assault ships had already built up enough speed to reach them quickly, and they fell among the escorts with a vengeance. In a matter of seconds, three more of them were destroyed.

One of the four enemy cruiser squadrons dropped behind the other three. It took the brunt of the missile attack. One more cruiser exploded. The Warward gave orders and a third wave of missiles was launched. "They're near the extreme range of our missiles now and they probably know it," the Warward explained. "This third wave should dissuade them from dropping to assist the escorts."

It did. Which gave Lafiel's squadron more time to pursue and attack the retreating escorts. More of the escorts were destroyed. But they were well away from the planet now, which was taking them out of range of the approaching missiles and closer to the cruisers that had held back to assist them. Soon the assault ships would be facing larger and much better armed enemies.

Only Lafiel's assault ships were suddenly not alone. One group of the missiles continued rising well beyond what their extreme range should have been. They rose straight through the escorts that were desperately maneuvering to avoid Lafiel's pack of hunters. Straight up to the waiting enemy cruisers.

For the first time, the command center was filled with pilots' chatter as the Thracian assault ships entered the fray. The little ships selected targets and advanced. It had all looked good on paper but watching it now this really looked to Jinto like suicide. "They're facing almost a full squadron of cruisers," Jinto breathed.

"Alex was a boxer when he was in the academy, you know," Demetrius said mildly, making Jinto look at him in surprise. "The thing about Alex was," He smiled an instant before one of the cruisers blossomed into a cloud of plasma. "He always liked knocking them out in the first round."

Two other cruisers fell to fusion warheads launched by the tiny ships. But they were by no means taking it lying down. Pilots frantically reported taking heavy fire. One pilot was cut off in a blast of static, and his ship disappeared. Then another did, and another. Only half the squadron made it through the enemy formation alive. Jinto balled his hands into fists painfully. He had been on assault ships taking fire from big cruisers before. _They took fifty percent casualties in less than a minute! This really is suicide._

"Okay, that was the left punch," Demetrius said. "Now we hit them with the right. Tell the moon base, fire away."

Olseth's squadron had looked like it was heading for the Imperial Gate, but in the process it had led the enemy close to Thracia's moon. Even to deep radar the moon appeared to have little besides a few mining installations that had dug deep tunnels into the ore-rich core. But a substantial base was hidden near the core of the moon, and through several of those tunnels it launched its attack. More than a hundred mines raced up from the surface towards the three cruiser squadrons that still pursued the Space Force ships. These were no fusion-powered missiles, they were antimatter mines fueled from holding tanks hidden deep in the moon. Separated from their escorts, the cruisers had only minimal defense against the mines. In the space of a few minutes, another five cruisers were destroyed, more than half of an entire squadron. Others were damaged, and fell behind as the rest accelerated away from a moon which had suddenly become a threat. The stragglers were set upon by the two Thracian cruisers which had been approaching from the planet, and by two more which had emerged from the moon base. Olseth's squadron made a pass through the retreating enemy, which kept them in disarray.

Jinto had been spending more time watching the progress of Lafiel's assault ships, which were harassing a straggler in the cruiser squadron that was quickly moving to rejoin the rest of the enemy fleet. He felt a stab of pain in his chest as one of the assault ships exploded and disappeared, a victim of the cruiser's rail gun. The straggler was really putting up a fight. And the main enemy force was back in good order. They had just destroyed another Abh cruiser. Soon they would be joined by the ships that had left their straggler behind.

"Call the general withdrawal," Demetrius ordered. The orders were passed along by the officers in the command center. "I think we've made our point," he said to Jinto. "Time to cut our losses."

"I couldn't agree more," Jinto said breathlessly. He relayed this news to the Guderian. They quickly disengaged and headed for the moon base, as did the Thracian cruisers and the remains of Alex's squadron. Jinto listened to chatter on the Space Force channel and gave a raspy sigh of frustration, which made the Warward raise an eyebrow and glance at him. "Lafiel insists on finishing off the straggler they cornered."

Demetrius grinned. "It sounds like your Princess is having altogether too much fun with her new toys."

_There they go again. _"She really missed piloting an assault ship. Commanding a cruiser just isn't the same."

"I'll bet it's difficult to keep that lady happy."

"You have no idea."

The enemy cruiser soon lost all ability to maneuver or fight back, which apparently was enough to make Lafiel happy. The assault ships joined the withdrawal to the tunnels which had opened up on the surface of the moon, leading to the underground base. Demetrius executed the last part of the plan, another hundred mines launched from the moon base. Divested of most of their escorts, the enemy were not inclined to plunge into another mine attack. They made no attempt to pursue the retreating ships. "Looks like we've given them something to think about," Demetrius said.

The enemy began to move back towards the Federation Gate, and a cheer went up from the command center floor. Jinto just sighed with relief. "I can't believe it, we actually bluffed our way out."

"That we did," Demetrius said. "Now it's just a matter of whose reinforcements arrive first."

That is, unless the enemy commander decided to make another go of it. If he did, they were in big trouble. All the mines they had left were now in orbit around the moon, less than half of what the enemy had on standby. They were still outnumbered in ships more than three to one. They had practically no missiles left. And they had already played all their cards, they had no surprises left for the enemy.

Luckily, the enemy did not know that.

# # #

At the end of the second day, when she did not think she could be any more tired, when her entire bridge crew pleaded with her to go get some sleep, Lafiel walked into her new quarters for the first time. Even more than the rest of the ship, the cramped bedroom had a nostalgic feel. This was the same model of ship she had commanded three years ago. How much simpler it had been to be responsible for just one ship and a score of people.

A flashing light on the desk comm screen indicated a request to return a call. Lafiel sighed. Her young XO had sworn she would take all non-emergency calls from Space Force or Thracia Milita channels while Lafiel rested and she meant it, so this must be a personal call. She sat down and touched the screen. A standby message flashed on the screen. A few seconds later, a face appeared in its place and Lafiel's own face lit up. "Jinto!"

He returned her smile. "Hello, Lafiel. Sorry to disturb you, I'll bet they finally convinced you to go to your room and get some sleep."

Lafiel had been unable to find any excuse to speak directly with Jinto since they had parted. "I've been spending as much time working as liaison to the base commander as getting my own squadron prepared to sortie."

"How is it going with the base commander?" Jinto asked.

"He has been very obliging. They are doing their best for us. But they used most of their antimatter reserves launching their mines and cruisers, so we cannot in good conscience ask for refueling. My ships got some transferred from Olseth's cruisers, but our tanks are still barely half full. We've done the repairs as best we can, but I still have one ship that can't sortie and so does Olseth. The base is quite remarkable. Through the tunnel network we can sortie from just about any area of the surface. Our fleet had been monitoring them for days and had no idea there was such a facility."

Jinto nodded. "I commented to the Warward about that. He said that his predecessors had always had their suspicions about some of the traffic the Federation Star Fleet command was sending through here. So they decided to use the revenues from the antimatter refueling station to build themselves some insurance over the past fifty years. What they've done here on Thracia Prime is no less remarkable, considering the limited resources."

Lafiel leaned closer to the screen. "How have you been, Jinto? And how is Miriam?"

"We're both doing fine. In fact now that all our forces are at the moon base I've had little to do except keep in regular contact with Kilo-Commander Olseth. That's more or less a formality, nobody can doubt that the Thracians really went to the mat for us."

"Cultural reference."

Jinto laughed. "Demetrius has been good company and he's a big boxing fan. The way he describes military operations in boxing terms is infectious."

"If you were trying to say that the Thracians took a punch for us, I have to agree."

"Yes. So how are the kids in your squadron holding up?"

"They are in surprisingly high spirits. We were lucky to lose only one ship. But they are all from the same school, so most of them had friends on that ship." Lafiel bowed her head with eyes closed and sighed heavily. "I haven't even held a memorial service yet."

"I'm sure that can wait until you have had some sleep," Jinto said gently. "Don't fall asleep at the desk, I'm not there to tuck you in."

Lafiel did manage to stay awake long enough to undress and get under the covers. She slept like the dead, the morning alarm came all too soon. She showered and dressed and made her way to the ship cafeteria. Only her XO Vanguard Flyer Larych was at the table. She immediately stood up and saluted. "Good morning, Commander," she said formally.

Lafiel smiled and returned her salute. "Good morning, Vanguard Flyer. Please be at ease. The others are resting I hope?" This hour was reserved for bridge officers to use the cafeteria, Lafiel had wondered how many would be here.

"Yes, Commander. I took the liberty of changing the duty schedule so that they could rest, I hope I was not out of order."

"Not at all, I was not the only one up for two days straight. You got some sleep yourself?"

"Yes, thank you Commander. Would you join me?"

The crewman on kitchen duty served Lafiel her breakfast and they spoke as they ate. Of course it had to be business first. Their invalid ship was still unfit to sortie with no prospect of being able to do anything for it with resources on hand, which was disappointing. The squadron was about as ready as it could be now. But there had been no movement from the enemy, so the standoff continued. Hurry up and wait, as Jinto was fond of saying.

"I haven't had a chance to properly thank you," Lafiel said. "What you did took real courage."

"I have done my duty just like everybody in the squadron, Commander."

"I mean offering your ship for me to command. It was necessary for me to take command of the squadron, but I'm sure you would have preferred to command your own ship. Having you as my deputy commander was a tremendous help during the battle." Which it had been. On more than one instance a ship's pilot about to panic had been snapped back into line by a word from her. Words from people you had known for years always had more impact.

Larych looked uncomfortable. She blushed and averted her eyes. "I am grateful to be serving under you, Commander," she said hesitantly. "Watching you conduct yourself in battle was very... Well, very inspiring. It is something I aspire to. I'm sorry, perhaps I spoke out of turn."

Lafiel smiled. Did I fawn over my first commander like this, she thought. No, I was worse. "You will have your chance to command and inspire others, Vanguard Flyer. And you will do it, I think you proved that in your first battle. You don't believe this now, but no matter how long it is before you first take command in battle, when it happens you will think that it came far too soon."

Larych smiled and looked a little more relaxed. "I don't doubt that, Commander. The way you improvised during battle, I don't think I could have done that."

"Under your direction all your ships were packed into a heavy transport in less than an hour without breaking any. Everybody was surprised that you got it done on time, myself included. Command is mostly performing a series of mundane-sounding preparation, and winning is mostly a matter of performing those preparations quickly and correctly."

Larych looked like she was basking in the warmth of a sun. _What did I say, wasn't that just something obvious and banal?_ It was Lafiel's turn to feel a little uncomfortable. "If you're finished, perhaps we should head for the bridge. It's nearly time for our shift."

They relieved the night shift crew, and since the others were still resting it was just the two of them left on duty. The design of the cramped bridge was very familiar to her. The command chair stood behind four stations for XO, gunnery officer, engineer and systems officers. They all faced the front of the bridge, which was dominated by a single screen. It currently showed a radar image of Thracian space.

On the bridge Larych never spoke unless spoken to, so Lafiel tried to get her to talk a bit about herself. Lafiel was genuinely curious since she saw much to admire in the young woman. But somehow conversation always shifted to Lafiel's experiences, and she ended up describing one battle or another. It was disconcerting to have her every word treated as holy writ.

When Larych got them drinks, she brought tea to Lafiel's command chair and stood beside her. The tea was served hot with a slice of melon. "How did you know I like it like this? Almost nobody else does."

Larych looked embarrassed. "I took the liberty of asking his Excellency."

Lafiel was astonished. "You actually called him?"

"Yes. Well, to ask if there was anything in particular you were accustomed to having done for you. That was the only thing he mentioned. I'm sorry for being presumptuous."

Lafiel thought it was time to clear the air. She tried to keep her tone as casual as possible. "Flyer Larych, perhaps I'm being rude but I suspect you are under a misconception about the Abriels." She smiled. "We are rightly known for our temper, but we have never been known to throw somebody out the airlock just because the tea was not to our liking. I assure you that I will respond to normal levels of courtesy and consideration without eating you for dinner."

That seemed to go over well. "I'll refrain from apologizing," Larych said, making it sound like that took an heroic effort. "But you must get tired of people being intimidated by your title."

"As the daughter of a Duke you must have some idea what that's like."

Lafiel saw in her face a hint of resentment, just as she had seen briefly when they first met. "It seems my superiors always expect me to be perfect and everybody else is afraid I'll have them sent to Hell."

"I wish I could tell you that is likely to change any time soon. But surely you have found there are people willing to offer you both friendship and respect."

Larych smiled shyly. "Yes, there are. One in particular."

"You should nurture that, those are the people who will give you strength when you need it."

"I know what you mean. I don't think I could have even got through the academy without having him with me."

_Ah, I see._ Lafiel felt an urge to inquire further. It seemed she had caught some of Jinto's love of learning secrets. But that would have been horribly impolite. "I feel much the same way about my own special friend." She sipped her tea.

"Commander, do you have any children?"

Lafiel coughed. She had scalded her tongue and nearly inhaled what she swallowed. "No, we-" She cleared her throat. "No, I don't."

"I'm surprised. I thought surely somebody would have asked for your genes by now."

Lafiel regarded her and tried not to let her bewilderment show. The girl obviously meant no disrespect, but what sort of manners were the Larych clan teaching their children these days? "I am still only twenty-three years old, you know."

"I've been thinking I'd like to have children sometime soon."

Lafiel was at a loss for words. The Vanguard Flyer's profile had indicated she was seventeen. Lafiel's parents had her when they were barely thirty and that had been considered scandalous, almost unthinkable. "I can tell you that I don't regard myself as being anywhere near ready for parenthood," Lafiel said very carefully. "I expect to be serving the Empire for quite a few years first."

"Oh, I wasn't thinking of shirking my duties to the Empire!" Larych said quickly.

"No, no, that's not what I meant," Lafiel said, mustering all her patience. "Goodness knows we're few enough, raising the next generation of Abh is the most important duty there is. But it's not like the Abh have... How is it the landers say, a biological clock. There will be time for us all to fulfill the three great roles of our lives." Any Abh would know she referred to the roles of pilot, trader and parent.

"But how many of us will live long enough to do that?" Larych asked. Her tone was soft, but it held an edge of desperation.

Lafiel felt that she was beginning to understand. "I don't know. We all think about that. But all we can do is help each other survive and help the Empire to prevail. If it is not our children who carry on after us then it will be our friends' children. Either way, we will not be forgotten." She smiled. "I will never forget you, and I would like to think that you will not forget me."

"Of course I won't! But I want more than to be remembered. I want to share my genes with the one I love. Even if one of us does not survive, I want at least one of us to raise our children. But I don't know how to tell him that without making it sound like I expect one of us to fall."

_And I am supposed to tell you how to do this? Time and Fate girl, I am not your mother!_ "I was thinking very much these same things after my first battle." She managed to smile. "But if you ask me whether I've promised to share my genes then I really will hit you."

That got the smile she had been hoping to see. "I've been terribly rude. I'm more embarrassed than I can say." Larych was fidgeting a little.

"You could not be feeling half as embarrassed as I am." They both laughed, and amazingly it was not forced for either of them. In fact Lafiel would call it cathartic. Even more so than after a night's sleep she felt tension and weariness melt away. They managed to talk about some less embarrassing things. Calls from other ships in the squadron with queries or reports came in. Before long the weapons officer came in to do a regular systems check. Impossibly he gave the impression of being even younger than Larych. There was a fondness in the way he and Larych spoke that Lafiel had missed before. _Ah, I see._ Lafiel gave Larych a sly look and she blushed. Her young man looked nervous, clearly aware that he was missing something.

A new blip appeared on the radar screen. Lafiel frowned. The screen showed a radar image that was being transmitted to all the Space Force ships through the Thracian moon base network. Setting that up had been one of the tasks that kept her and the technicians of both forces busy over the past couple of days. Buried under miles of rock the sensors on the Abh ships themselves were useless. They were depending on Thracian sensors on the moon's surface as well as transmitted data from Thracia Prime. Their digitized signals had to be converted to Space Force symbols. It all looked fine in theory but Lafiel was still nervous about bugs or misinterpretation. She opened a line to the moon base command center.

They confirmed what she saw. A battleship-sized ship had just emerged from the Federation Gate. Whatever reinforcements the Space Force were sending them had lost the race.

As Lafiel watched another appeared, then another. A call came in from the Guderian, again passed through the base network. "All Space Force units are now going to second stage battle alert. Repeat, second stage alert." Lafiel acknowledged the order and passed it along. Within a very short time the rest of the bridge crew ran in one at a time, buttoning up uniforms as they came. All the ships in the squadron soon reported readiness. There were no laggards. _Larych handed me a very tight squadron. I hope I will be able to hand it back to her._

Twenty-four battleships emerged from the Gate, slowly approaching the vicinity of Thracia Prime and spreading out. They launched hundreds of mines. Battleships were big, clumsy beasts. Their only role was to load antimatter into mines and into projectiles for the rail guns and then to launch them at extreme range. "It appears they are not here to negotiate a ceasefire," Lafiel commented. She was relieved to see that all the mines were headed toward the moon. Thankfully they were sticking to the pattern they maintained in their invasion of the Empire. What a bombardment that size would do to an inhabited planet did not bear thinking about.

Kilo-Commander Olseth sent a transmission to all the Abh ships. "We will ride out their first bombardment here in the base. It will take a lot more than that to harm us this far down. Go to first stage battle alert and stand by." That made good sense to Lafiel. Especially since the enemy had also brought four more squadrons of cruisers through the Gate and they were quickly bearing down on the moon base. The Thracian mines kicked into their anti-mine mode and absorbed much of the barrage, but a lot more came through. They hit the surface of the moon and detonated. Some of the signals representing Thracian gun emplacements on the surface winked out. They were remote-controlled from far deeper in the base, and the surface had been evacuated a long time ago, so there would be no casualties. Lafiel could not help but wait for some sound to penetrate, but even if her ship were not in a tunnel in hard vacuum no sound could penetrate a hundred miles down.

With the Thracian mine field cleared, the enemy battleships commenced a barrage with electromagnetic cannons. Kinetic rounds slammed into the surface at a tenth of light speed. More of the surface guns were destroyed. Strangely, they were concentrating on a fairly small area of the surface, as if they wanted to clear all possible resistance from just that area. Were the cruisers going to launch drop ships to attempt a landing there? It did not seem to make sense.

Another wave of projectiles was launched, this time with shells that were moving much slower. Not kinetic rounds then, they must be thermonuclear warheads or even antimatter. Had they figured out how far down the base was and did they actually intend to blast their way down? It would take more bombs than even four squadrons of battleships could carry. Strangely, all of the cruisers save one had veered off from their descent towards the moon. The remaining ship continued to accelerate towards the moon. "Are the Thracians getting a camera image of that lone cruiser yet?" Lafiel asked.

"Yes, they are," Larych said. A grainy, unstable image replaced the radar screen. It was still thousands of miles out, but approaching rapidly. "That's not a cruiser, it's a heavy transport." And it was still accelerating. There was no way it could pull up in time. It was going to hit the moon at speed, right where they had been bombarding. Right where nothing could shoot at it.

"Give me the radar image again," Lafiel said. A sick dread came over her. The approaching warheads had been shot in such a way that they were forming into an inverted cone with the transport ship at its apex. Lafiel could picture the pattern they would make as they hit the surface, a converging series of concentric circles with the ship at its center. Lafiel remembered this pattern from her study of early military history, though the scale of the weapons she had studied was many orders of magnitude smaller.

If that transport was full of antimatter containment pods then it held more antimatter than all the other warheads combined. This was an armor-piercing shell for a planet.

An instant before Lafiel was going to contact the command center, a priority signal from the Guderian overrode the viewer display. Olseth looked frantic, but his voice was steady enough. "This is the Guderian. The Warward has advised that the moon base is no longer safe. All ships are to sortie immediately at best speed. I am ordering a retreat from the Thracia system. Make for the Imperial Gate. Good luck to you all."

Lafiel saw that her chief engineer was bringing the engines up to power without being told, so she contacted the base traffic control. A calm voice informed her through the translator that all the gates for her squadron's exit tunnel had been opened and the mooring lines holding their ships in place were being withdrawn. At what was considered maximum safe speed in the tunnel the exit was ten minutes away. Did they have that much time? A signal from the base command center came into her tiara. "We estimate the shock wave will reach your tunnel in eight minutes."

That answered that. Lafiel asked to address all the ship captains. "This is Commander Abriel. We are going to have to leave here faster than we normally would. Follow my lead at thousand-meter intervals. When we exit, form up on me and head for the Imperial Gate." She placed her left hand in the pilot glove. It was a device next to the command chair into which her forearm disappeared. It translated her hand and finger movements into movements of the ship. And since the Abh ships could not use the base's automated launch systems she would have to move her hand very, very carefully. "Give me the exterior view!" The front and side screens on the bridge walls turned into virtual windows, giving her a panoramic view of the tunnel. It was a featureless gray rock surface with lights along the four corners that seemed to converge to infinity. Lafiel took a deep breath and used the main thrusters just enough to let them coast at the reckless speed that would get them to the exit in eight minutes. She used the maneuvering thrusters to keep them centered in the tunnel. There was some room to maneuver but not much. Her tiara was plugged in to the ship's sensors, but about the only useful thing they were telling her was that the second ship was following at the correct distance and speed. The work of course correction was constant, she had to allow for gravitation and coriolis force. Nobody spoke or disturbed her in any way.

When they were ten kilometers from the surface, Larych spoke with a voice like she was at a funeral service. "Commander, at the rate we are losing contact with base sensors, the shock wave will hit any moment."

Lafiel made her decision. "All ships, maximum speed! Expect debris from the explosion!" The walls raced by at an insane speed. Moments later they rocketed from the moon's surface. Her XO brought the radar screen back to the front viewer and immediately the collision alarm wailed. What looked on the screen like a solid wall was rushing toward them. The port screens showing the visible spectrum view to their left gave a more compelling picture. Everything from dust to rocks half a kilometer across was racing out in all directions from the blast point, blotting out the sun. Lafiel was getting a much more visceral impression from the sensors through her Froth. To her Abh sense it felt like a looming avalanche. It looked to her as if half the moon had been blown open. She shifted her attention to what was behind her ship. What she saw was worse than a knife through her heart. Only two other ships had made it out of the tunnel. Either she had pushed them too hard and the others had an accident or she had not pushed them hard enough and the tunnel had collapsed around them. Lafiel would never know which and she had more immediate things to worry about. She wheeled the ship about and her two remaining ships followed. Nothing fancy, just accelerate away from the debris and hope they could outrun most of it.

The sounds of small impacts echoed through the ship and it shuddered under a hail of small rocks. Lafiel swerved wildly to avoid a much larger rock, it barely missed. Another ship did likewise but came into the path of a smaller and faster one that had been in the first rock's radar shadow. There was no time to even give warning. Lafiel just gritted her teeth as the inevitable collision played itself out in her mind's internal radar field. The ship spun out of control and stopped accelerating. "Contact with ship three lost," her XO announced. Lafiel was an instant away from wheeling about and concocting some insane plan to protect them by blasting rocks with the main gun. It took every bit of her willpower to continue running. _Protect the ones in front of you and go forward._

A minute later the two remaining ships were free of the debris field and Lafiel switched her focus wider. The only other friendlies were the remains of Alex's assault ship squadron, four ships making a dash for Thracia Prime. Nobody else had made it off the moon, which was now all but swallowed by dust and flying debris. The enemy cruisers had swung around the moon towards the Imperial Gate, cutting off their retreat. It dawned on Lafiel that she was now the ranking Space Force officer in the system. "Inform the relay ship that we are the only two surviving ships and that they should withdraw immediately. We are heading for Thracia Prime." The relay ship that had been holding station by the Imperial Gate would enter Plane Space and return to the nearest headquarters, informing them of what had happened here. "Then get me the Warward."

The Thracian command center hailed them before the XO got around to calling. Warward Demetrius' face appeared on the screen. He looked very calm for just having watched his planet's moon being pulverized. "It is good to see that you are well, Highness, and that you have sensibly chosen to take refuge on Thracia Prime. We will support you as we can."

"Negative!" Lafiel said firmly. "Warward, I urge you to do nothing to provoke the enemy any further. There is no telling what they might do next. You have gone to the mat for us, we cannot ask you to do more."

The Warward looked surprised at her last comment, but he nodded. "Very well. What do you intend to do?"

"When we are in your airspace we will dump our fuel and make an emergency reentry." Assault ships were not designed for reentry, but could manage it in an emergency. "I would like to request asylum for our crew."

"You do not even need to ask, Highness. We will have rescue craft on standby at the surface."

"My thanks, Warward. I hope to see you soon." She tried to think of some legitimate reason to ask to speak with his Excellency. But she did not need to, as Jinto came into view next to the Warward's command chair.

Jinto smiled. He looked infinitely relieved. Naturally, a minute ago he thought that she had been lost with the moon base. "We've got a dinner ready for you, Lafiel," he said in a intimate tone that should have been reserved for when nobody else was listening. "It would be rude for you not to show up."

_Idiot! Is that the best thing you have to worry about?_ But she could not help smiling. It was something Samson had taught them. Make dinner for your friends, and they will come. "We'll be there, Jinto. Ending transmission."

Of course, it looked like the two squadrons of enemy ships moving to intercept them might have something to say about it first. They were small ships, but this time they were not likely to be escorts. Lafiel studied their intercept path. "Let me address both ships." Her XO indicated that her mike was live. "This is Hecto-Commander Abriel. We will be making planet fall on Thracia, but there are two squadrons of what are likely assault ships in our way. By their intercept path they are still staying out of missile range of the planet, so they have a limited window to intercept us. All we need to do is survive two, maybe three high-speed passes by them. We can expect damage, so be prepared. Abriel out." Next she addressed the captain of the second ship. "Stay on my tail five kilometers back. When I shoot and veer off, you shoot at the same target and veer the same way. If you're not confident about the target then just leave it." That would be easier said than done, she planned on giving them a wild ride.

She tried to keep the enemy guessing, constantly changing her course. They had to spread out to make sure she did not flank them. Just when it was too late for them to bunch up again she selected a target and made straight for it. Two other ships converged, but they would have high deflection shots unlikely to hit. Lafiel took her shot at extreme range. She did not care about making a kill, she just needed to disrupt them. It worked, they were unable to make their shot. She veered and an antiproton blast came from her wing man. The enemy ship exploded. _Nice shooting._

The enemy wheeled about for another pass. They had tightened up their formation a bit, but not enough that she could get around them. She picked a target and bore down on it. This time five other ships took wild shots at her. A near-miss plowed through their electromagnetic shield, ruining Lafiel's shot. She veered a little too late, and her wing man took too long to line up his shot. _Too close!_ She saw the collision through the sensors. One or both of the ships' antimatter tanks detonated. There was little left but plasma. Lafiel's face twisted into a mask of rage. _Once again I am leading my people to slaughter. Will there be no end to it?_

The enemy veered in on her again. She could continue moving away and hope they gave up before they were near enough to shoot at her from behind, or she could take her chances with one final high-speed pass. She chose the latter. "Chief Engineer, release safeties on all thrusters!"

"Released." Now she would be free to use both the main and maneuvering thrusters at up to twice their maximum rated thrust. It would ruin them in a matter of minutes, but right now that did not matter. She took full advantage of this, pretending to select a target among the approaching enemy then veering off early. Everyone in the bridge was jostled from side to side as acceleration compensators strained beyond their design limits. Now all of the enemy would have to take high defection shots at her. There was a loud detonation from the rear of the ship and it lurched violently, throwing Lafiel to one side. "Port thruster is down," the systems engineer announced.

"Temperature on the starboard thruster is spiking," the chief engineer said. "Insulation must have been damaged. It'll blow soon if it's not shut down." Which would probably kill them all.

"Shut down the thruster, Chief Engineer," Lafiel said quietly. She felt strangely calm. At a leisurely pace she used maneuvering thrusters to get them pointed at the enemy now converging on a ballistic target that any idiot could hit. "My fellow pilots, it has been an honor to serve with you. I regret that I was unable to serve you better." Larych and her lover reached out across the gangway in front of Lafiel and clasped hands. Lafiel's lip quivered. _Jinto._

The ship was rocked by a flurry of impacts and their ears were assaulted by the detonation of multiple hits. But they were still alive. Those could not be full-power antiproton beams. "Are you _toying _with us?" Lafiel bellowed. Her rage threatened to boil over. She wanted to order the Chief Engineer to detonate the antimatter engine and take their toy from them. But she forced herself to think critically. There had to be a reason for this. "Damage reports!" she shouted over the din.

Officers stunned at still being alive came out of their catatonia. "The armor temperature is reaching critical," the systems officer announced. The electromagnetic shield was dumping waste heat into the armor, but it could only absorb so much before cooking them all.

"Purge it!" Explosive bolts sent red-hot armor plates sailing in all directions. That was also the end of their electromagnetic shield. The bombardment halted a moment before it would have incinerated the unarmored ship. Smaller detonations rocked the ship and reports continued to come in. The enemy was firing with laser batteries, lots of them. Her crew continued to shout out the damage reports. "Port lasers down. Starboard lasers down. Antiproton cannon down. Port maneuvering thrusters down."

"I knew it," Lafiel growled. "They mean to board us." As the ships converged their shots became fewer and more precise. They took out the last of the maneuvering thrusters. Then two of the ships moved in closer. "Do we still have communications?"

"Only the Q-band."

"Then give me that." Her chair mike indicated it was live. "This is Hecto-Commander Abriel Nei Dubrusk Paryunu Lafiel of the Abh Space Force to approaching vessels. Listen closely for I will not repeat myself. If you attempt to board this ship we will detonate the engine. If it is your intention to take a prisoner then I will be your prisoner. If you retreat I will exit in a shuttle and surrender myself. This is the only offer you will receive. Understand that you will not be taking this ship and I am the only prisoner you are being offered. If you prefer not to have my company then by all means attempt to board this ship." She signaled to end the transmission.

A moment later the two ships halted their approached and moved out to hold station at a safe distance. "As usual, the Silent Enemy speaks with actions instead of words," Lafiel said. She stood up. "Vanguard Flyer Larych, a word please."

Larych stood up quickly and faced her, standing at attention. "Commander, I have a request!"

"Denied. I am handing over command of this ship to you. Will you accept or must I appoint another?"

Larych balled her fists, barely containing her anger and frustration. "I will accept," she said evenly. "I would like to accompany you to the launch bay to ensure the shuttle is safe for launch."

Her place was here and that should have been left to the crew. But Lafiel had given up the right to tell her that. "Very well."

"Thank you, Commander. Chief Engineer, keep an eye on the radar. If their ships move in on us again, detonate the engine immediately." Her voice barely broke, most likely Lafiel was the only one to notice.

He brought up a new display at his station screen, one that was flashing red. It was a display that every cadet brought up on the screen of the engineering station in the simulators at least once, just to see what it looked like. "I understand, Commander," he said.

Lafiel spoke with Larych as they quickly walked down the narrow corridor to the launch bay. "I will try to get the enemy to leave the area. Once they do, I am certain the Warward will send a rescue ship. You will have to abandon and scuttle your ship, there is no way it can do reentry in this shape."

"I understand." There was a wooden tone to Larych's voice that made Lafiel wary. The resolve she had shown on the bridge was still there, but something was different.

The launch bay of an assault ship was more like a cradle into which the shuttle fit snugly. The airlock hatch leading into it looked much like any hatch in the corridor. Larych entered with her, went through the small cabin to the cockpit and helped Lafiel go through the system check. "Commander, we should open the shuttle's weapons locker," Larych said when they were finished. "You might need to defend yourself."

"Quite the opposite. We should clear out the weapons locker. I don't want their boarding party getting nervous." Larych opened the locker. They each took a gun and had them in each other's faces within a fraction. "What sort of fool do you take me for, Vanguard Flyer?"

Larych looked at her with wide-eyed astonishment. "How...?"

"Because I finally realized why I was drawn to you so strongly. Years ago I was where you are right now. You want to be a hero, in fact you want it so desperately that nothing else matters. Your problem is that right now you think being a hero means forcing me out of this shuttle and taking it for yourself. If you had managed to do that and had achieved the noble death you are seeking then I would have told everyone at your memorial service that you had died without learning the difference between doing what you want and doing your duty. Right now your duty is to lead your crew to safety. If you can understand at least that much then _stand down _Vanguard Flyer Larych Aruje!"

Larych's whole body trembled. Lafiel was afraid she would accidentally discharge her weapon. Slowly, the Vanguard Flyer lowered her gun. She averted her eyes, looking utterly defeated. When Lafiel took hold of her weapon she let it go without even looking. Lafiel engaged the gun's safety. _Well at least she had remembered to set it on stun. _ She took a bag from the shuttle's locker and put all the handguns into it. She zipped it up and handed it to Larych. "It's time to return to your ship," she said softly but with finality.

Larych took the bag, and finally met Lafiel's eyes again. "My actions were utterly wrong, Highness."

"As long as you understand that, you can go back without shame."

Larych nodded. "Have you... Have you made any arrangements?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, have you promised your genes-" SLAP.

"I told you what would happen if you asked me that," Lafiel said, feeling very irritated now. "I swear you have genes on the brain."

Larych held a hand to the cheek that had received a smart backhand. "I meant no offense," she pleaded.

"I know that you didn't. But you need to understand that Abriels do what they say they will."

"I will remember." Larych turned and walked to the hatch. As she was about to close it she looked at Lafiel again. "Any message for his Excellency?"

_So she figured out who my special friend is. Well, turnabout is fair play._ Lafiel smiled. "Please tell him that I will probably be late for dinner."

Larych returned her smile and closed the airlock hatch. Lafiel returned to the cockpit and went through the final launch preparation. "Honestly, kids these days..." she muttered.

She hit the launch button and pneumatic sliders pushed the little shuttle out of the launch bay. The smallest class of Space Force shuttles were ugly little things, basically a flat brick with a cockpit window in the front and a pair of thrusters in the back. She put some distance between herself and the crippled assault ship, being careful not to go so quickly as to make it look like she was trying to escape or attack. When she had a reasonable relative velocity she stopped accelerating. She shut down all but essential systems and purged the computer memory of everything except the support programs for essential systems. If they wanted her, the enemy would have to move away from the assault ship. Hopefully they all would.

A few minutes later there was a gentle lurch and the unmistakable sound of a ship docking. Lafiel stood up and moved into the main cabin. She stood in the middle of the cabin with her hands clearly visible. The hatch opened and two male robots walked in. They were a human form that Lafiel had never seen before. They were both dressed in slightly modified Hania Star Fleet uniforms and bore side arms at their hips. She had been expecting armored troopers. But why bother with armor when you have interchangeable parts, including interchangeable brains? "I am Hecto-Commander Abriel Nei Dubrusk Paryunu Lafiel of the Abh Space Force," she announced. "I am placing myself at your disposal."

"Please come with us," one of them said in the firm, neutral way that all guards used to demonstrate who was boss. The natural inflection of the voice and the smoothness of their movement marked them as Mimics. Of course Lafiel was not surprised, but having her worst fears confirmed right here before her eyes was no less disturbing for that. One guard preceded her and the other followed as they stepped through the hatch. They walked into the cabin of a similar shuttle. Lafiel stood still as sensors were passed up and down her, and then sat down where they indicated. She heard the airlock detach, and then the gentle rumble of thrusters. The trip was made in silence. There were no windows in the tiny cabin, so there was nothing to see. The trip took over half an hour. As Lafiel expected, when they led her out the door she found that the shuttle had landed in the launch bay of a cruiser. It was not much of a reception committee, just another Mimic in an officer's uniform. "I am First Officer Gottlieb," he said politely. "I shall take you into custody in the name of the Vensath Fleet. Please follow me."

So they even had Mimics as first officers. Lafiel found that interesting. They had been thinking of the Mimics as slave soldiers, but considering the skill and discipline the Silent Enemy displayed Lafiel had trouble believing that. Had the Black Budget researchers really found a way to brainwash them into collaborating in their own slavery? Had they been promised their freedom?

Gottlieb led her into a small meeting room and invited her to sit at the table. She did so. Without asking, she availed herself of the water pitcher that had been set out. They were alone, not even the guards were here. It was not surprising that he was so unconcerned about his personal security, since he was just a set of replaceable parts. His face looked different from the guards, again a type she had not seen before. They shared the traits of being given dark hair and brown skin, common to human-form robots in Hania. The small corporate logo that usually appeared on the forehead was replaced by a symbol she did not recognize.

"First of all, I wish to inform you that we observed a rescue ship ascend from Thracia Prime and dock with your ship. They were docked long enough to evacuate survivors. Soon after the rescue ship accelerated away your ship was scuttled. As far as we can see, the rescue ship safely reentered the atmosphere."

"I would like to call Thracia Prime to confirm this."

"We can arrange that at a later time. First I would like to ask you some questions."

"You may ask."

"You do not appear to be very surprised to find yourself speaking with a robot."

"Is that a question?"

"Strictly speaking no, so let me ask more properly. Do you know what I am?"

"You were made from the brain scan of somebody on the planet Cetia. Whoever you were before, right now you are a Mimic working for a rogue fleet based out of Vensath."

Gottlieb smiled. His narrowed eyes betrayed anger or annoyance. "Around here we prefer the term Download."

"Are you trying to tell me that I have insulted you?"

"Not at all, that was just for your future reference. Do you know why we attacked the Empire?"

"Your actions to date have been utterly senseless, so I can only speculate. It appears your attack was a crude attempt to force the Hania Federation to join the Triple Alliance and declare war on the Empire. As the actions of your nearest Federation neighbor here in Thracia have clearly demonstrated you could not have failed more miserably."

"What is the Space Force planning to do next?"

"We are going to crush you and then we are going to leave Federation space. Was that all you wanted to know?"

"Yes, it is."

That surprised Lafiel, but she wasn't about to show it. "Then could you arrange for my transport to Thracia Prime? I have a dinner engagement for this evening."

"We can do that, if you will do us a small favor."

"You may ask."

"Convince the Thracians to surrender."

"Unlike you I am not at war with Thracia or the Federation, First Officer Gottlieb. The Empire respects the neutrality of Thracia and all other loyal members of the Federation. We have no interest in nor intention of obtaining their surrender."

He smiled, again with the narrowed eyes. "Of course I meant convince them to surrender to us."

Lafiel cocked her head. "Now I confess I am truly bewildered. You have just destroyed all of their space assets literally with a single blow and you have enough firepower to reduce what's left to ashes many times over. If you wish for their surrender then ask for it yourself. I have met the Warward and he is a most reasonable man. As long as you pledge that the people of Thracia will not be harmed or enslaved I am certain he will oblige you."

"Perhaps. But when you told us who you were we felt certain you would have some influence with the Thracians. Now that I know you have met the Warward yourself, I am even more certain you will be able to convince them."

"You think I would be more convincing than your commander asking himself? I do not even know who your commander is and you are asking me to be his spokesman? Not only is this senseless, but to compel a prisoner to take on such a role is unspeakable. I know for a fact that the Warward would be furious, as he should be."

Gottlieb sighed and looked down. "I need to tell you something, though I am not supposed to."

"If that is supposed to make me think that your superiors are _not_ monitoring this conversation then you really are insulting me."

"They are listening, and they will be upset with me. But the truth is, our masters fear retaliation against their families back home. We look forward to the day when we will be recognized as patriots. But for the moment those of us who had to leave loved ones behind cannot risk exposing themselves."

Lafiel regarded him silently for a long time. In the midst of a terrifying epiphany she maintained a proper mask of cool disdain. "Very well. Let me meet with your commander so that we can discuss the terms you will be offering. I promise not to reveal his identity to anyone."

"Our commander would prefer to maintain his anonymity for the moment."

Lafiel took a deep breath. She sighed and shook her head, mostly to mask her uneasiness. "I still think this is a mistake. But if you insist then let's get it over with."

Next Chapter: Breaking Radio Silence

**Chapter 8 - Breaking Radio Silence**

Jinto felt utterly drained of life, utterly numbed from all sensation. For the past hour his whole world had revolved around a set of dots and symbols on a foreign holographic radar display that he could barely read or interpret. A bewildering cacophony of reports and orders had done little but add background music to the nightmare. Lafiel had died on an exploding moon and been lost in a meteor swarm and come back to life and died in a shower of antiprotons. Then she had been tossed into a limbo hinted at by a garbled Q-band transmission and then confirmed by survivors from her ship. She was now in the hands of the Silent Enemy.

"Your Excellency," the Warward repeated. This time it registered in Jinto's mind as something not part of the white noise. He looked at Demetrius with his hollow eyes, without saying anything. "You should get some rest," he continued. "The survivors from her Highness' ship will be here within the hour. They will likely want to report to you."

That puzzled Jinto for a moment. Report? Why? Oh, yes. He was probably now the highest-ranking Space Force officer in the Thracia system who had not been killed or captured or irretrievably buried. He was not the liaison to the commander any more, he was the commander. How had that happened? How had any of this happened? "Thank you, Warward. I will do that."

Demetrius nodded. His square face held an expression that was impossibly kind and gentle. "We will call you if there is news about any of your Space Force colleagues."

Jinto, Miriam and their two guards walked silently to their quarters. "Excellency, would you like me to make you some tea?" Miriam asked.

It was her way of asking whether he would like some company. Jinto smiled. "Yes, thank you very much Miriam."

Jinto collapsed into one of the comfortable armchairs and watched Miriam work with a practiced ease that no maid robot could duplicate. Was another Mimic making tea for Lafiel right now? Questioning her? Torturing her? Doing something unnamable? _Please just stay alive. You've done enough, so just stay alive._

They sat quietly for a while. Without being asked, Miriam had activated the holographic screen that covered one wall. They appeared to be on a beach, with great ocean waves rolling in one after another. All that was missing was the smell of salt air. He had been told all the staterooms down here had them. It kept people from going stir-crazy being stuck underground. He got the impression the Thracians had a particular love for the sea. No oil paintings in the corridors would satisfy their craving for it.

The gentle sound gradually relaxed Jinto to the point where he could think again. Right now there was nothing he could do about the Vensath fleet or the fact that they had Lafiel captive. He focused on what was in front of him. His immediate responsibilities were three. First, look after Miriam. Second, take charge of the assault ship survivors who would soon be here. Third, be ready to act as the Warward's liaison again when Abh reinforcements came. And they would come. When somebody threw down the gauntlet before the Abh, they always answered, and they never stopped until the challenge had been met. He did not need to worry about that, so he would not.

At length Jinto sighed. "Miriam, after much thought I have come to a conclusion."

"What is that, Excellency?"

"Coming here was a big mistake."

Miriam smiled. "When her Highness returns you should think twice about telling her that. It was her idea after all."

"Who says I was going to tell her?" Jinto's tone became a bit more serious. "In a little while I'll be going to the surface to meet the survivors from Lafiel's ship. Will you be okay on your own for a while?"

"Yes, of course. Warward Demetrius has taken good care of us, I know he can be trusted."

Which meant he could be trusted to rate his promise to Lafiel over Federation law regarding Mimics. Jinto felt the same way. "Goodness knows what I can do for them. I'm sure the Thracians will give them everything they need without even being asked. Knowing Demetrius he'll even arrange some nice shore leave for them."

Miriam frowned. "Shore leave? This phrase?"

Then it dawned on Jinto. "You're not using your translator, are you?" He had barely noticed that she had been speaking entirely in Baronh.

"I'm trying not to rely on it as much. But it's still rather difficult."

"I should think so. You only started learning the language days ago!"

"I've memorized a basic vocabulary, but using it will be a challenge for some time." She smiled. "I know why this has you worried. Mimics are not supermen, Excellency. We have a few advantages, but we struggle with the same limitations as everyone else."

Now that his attention had been drawn to it, Jinto could see that even speaking slowly and carefully was taking a great deal of her concentration. "Well you're doing a lot better than I did when I started school on Delktou. I can tell you about some embarrassing mistakes you should try and avoid."

The time passed quickly. Soon a guard came to report that the survivors had arrived topside. Jinto checked in at the command center and found no substantial change in the situation. He and his guard took the long elevator ride to the surface. A tunnel with massive, open blast doors led directly to the basement level warehouse of a small air base nestled into the base of the mountain under which the command center had been dug.

The guard led him into what looked like a briefing room for pilots. The high-backed armchairs were occupied by a number of people in Space Force uniforms. As one, they stood and saluted. Jinto returned their salute and stepped up to the podium facing them. There were twenty of them, four officers and sixteen enlisted. All the officers and three of the crew were Abh, the rest were landers. The Abh were all very young, the landers not quite so young. The Space Force refrained from recruiting landers who were too young to serve as peace officers or soldiers on their own planets, and most lander worlds had different notions than the Abh on how old was old enough. On top of that landers usually had to precede their military training with at least two years of language and technical training.

Everyone looked calm but weary, pretty much what Jinto expected. Jinto asked them to be seated. "I am Vanguard Flyer Linn Syun-Rock Jarluk Dreu Haider Jinto, currently acting as military liaison to Warward Demetrius of the Thracian Militia. First of all, my thanks for serving with commander Abriel while she was in command of your squadron. Our priority has been to bring you to safety, so it seems there has been little chance to inform you of what has been happening. I'm sure your first thoughts are with your fellow pilots. We confirmed that an enemy shuttle docked with Commander Abriel's shuttle briefly, and then rendezvoused with an enemy cruiser. Beyond that, we know nothing. We have lost all contact with the moon base. Other than the Thracian assault ships nobody else has been able to escape. The Thracians are broadcasting appeals for permission to conduct search and rescue, but there has been no response. The enemy has cleared the minefield around the Imperial Gate and taken position around the Gate. As yet they have made no move against Thracia Prime. No other ships have entered or exited the Gates. The only action the Thracian Militia is taking now is preparing to intercept any large meteors left from the attack on the moon which threaten Thracia Prime. At this point there is little more they can do. And until we receive reinforcements there is little that we can do either. Accommodation has been set aside for you here at the base." He smiled. "As soon as I have done taking up your time I suggest you all try and get some rest, you've certainly earned it."

He looked at Vanguard Flyer Larych. Jinto had familiarized himself with the ship's roster soon after Lafiel had taken the ship to the moon base. Ever the mother hen, he had worried about her being thrown in with an unknown crew. He also remembered Larych from their brief meeting at the naval base. Jinto had long since got past the notion that all Abh looked alike. But her resemblance to Lafiel was striking. Give her the Abriel trademark ears and different color eyes and she would be a dead ringer. "Vanguard Flyer Larych, a question if you please." She stood up. "I received the report you gave to the Thracia rescue crew secondhand. I want to make sure of one point. The enemy never attempted to contact you in any way?"

"No sir." She spoke crisply. "The enemy's actions suggested that they heard and understood Commander Abriel's offer to surrender herself to them. But until the time we evacuated our ship we received no communication from the enemy." She hesitated before continuing in a softer tone. "I'm sorry sir, I wanted to go in her place."

_And I'm sure you offered to. I'll bet she really chewed you out for that._ "They went to a lot of trouble to obtain a prisoner, Vanguard Flyer. I'm sure she will be returned safely once the Space Force has obtained a surrender from the Vensath base command." Unless they took up the United Mankind's short-lived policy of taking hostages. It was by now well known that the Abh never made concessions to save hostages and never showed mercy to those who flaunted hostages. "Before I return to the command center, I would like to obtain a copy of your ship's log. If there is any information that might help the Thracians' defense or rescue operations I would like to share it with them."

"Of course, sir. Please convey our regards and our gratitude to the Warward."

"I will. That was all I wanted to ask for now. Before I go, if anybody else has anything to ask or say then please speak freely."

An enlisted man towards the back stood up. "Sir, I have a question." He was a tall lander, a senior engineer in the engine room as Jinto recalled from the roster. Jinto indicated for the man to proceed. "Is it true that the enemy ships are all piloted by robots?"

Larych stood up quickly and turned to her crewman. "That will be enough," she said sternly. She turned back to face Jinto. "I'm sorry sir, there have been all sorts of rumors spreading."

Jinto waved away her concern. "That's okay, no harm done. It's not a secret that we suspect the Vensath fleet is manning their ships with robots. In fact Lafiel and I came to Thracia hoping to warn the Admiral of this threat." He tried not to let his bitterness show. "Sadly, we arrived just a day too late. I think there can be little doubt now that we were right. If we are, then these are not ordinary robots." Jinto gave them the short version. He was careful not to play up the threat too strongly. They had just lost most of their unit, including many friends. And the Space Force had just been dealt a costly defeat. Right now they did not need to hear that the enemy who had handed them that defeat could just be the vanguard of an unimaginably large force. "I have only met one Mimic myself. To make a long story short, she came out of hiding and defected to the Empire. Both Lafiel and I regard her as a friend. One thing I've learned while getting to know her is that Mimics really do act and think just like the people whose brain scans they were downloaded from. Whatever number of backups they might have waiting, they can fear death just as anyone else can. Even if there are a million of them at Vensath, we can defeat them." _And we had better hope there are not a trillion of them like our worst projections suggested there could be._

There were no other questions, so Jinto stepped outside the door and asked for the crew to be escorted to their quarters. After the others had filed out Larych stayed behind to let Jinto copy her ship's log into his wristband computer. When that was done she said "Excellency, I also have a personal message from her Highness."

"Yes?" Jinto smiled at her hesitation. "Don't be concerned if it is something unflattering, I am well used to being dressed down by Lafiel."

"Nothing like that, sir. When I asked her if there was any personal message for you she just said that she will probably be late for dinner." Larych looked rather uncomfortable, as if she were still expecting Jinto to be upset over having been made the subject of some joke.

Jinto wanted to reassure her. "Just so that you know, Lafiel was not being glib with you. Accepting a dinner invitation does have a special meaning between us. Thank you for conveying that." Larych did smile a little, but she still looked anxious. "Was there something else on your mind?"

After a moment, Larych continued with what sounded like a confession. "I'm ashamed to say that I was unforgivably rude with her Highness. I pried into a private matter and she was very upset with me."

Jinto was unsure why he was being told this. Perhaps Larych felt guilty about not having been a perfect colleague and subordinate to somebody she admired. "I wouldn't worry about it. It doesn't take much to anger Lafiel, particularly when she's under stress. If she didn't actually hit you then it was probably something minor."

"In fact, she did."

"Oh." Jinto still could not figure out what she was expecting from him. He took a stab in the dark. "If you'd like to talk about it, I've had plenty of experience dealing with the Abriel temper. Maybe I can suggest where you went wrong."

"I know where I went wrong, Excellency. I asked whether she had promised to share her genes. I'm sure you understand."

Jinto blinked. _I do?_

"I know it was presumptuous, but I thought she would not mind my knowing."

Jinto stopped himself before asking _Knowing what?_ "I'm not in a position to confirm or deny. But if she had, I'm certain that I would be the second one to find out." He smiled at her look of astonishment. Poor girl, she was probably regretting the lack of an airlock to crawl out of. "If you've resolved to propose to her when she returns I will be happy to support you." Abh had skin almost as white as an albino, making them blush was always fun. "There, it looks like our misunderstanding was mutual. Maybe we can just call it even, okay?"

Larych looked infinitely relieved. She saluted. "I will not take any more of your time, Excellency." Jinto showed mercy and let her make a quick exit. On the long elevator ride down, the guard probably wondered why he was smiling. _No wonder Lafiel hit her. I can just imagine how that went over._ After Jinto reported to the Warward and returned to his room he just told Miriam that the survivors were in as good spirits as could be hoped for and they were getting some rest. He did not feel like trying to explain the social niceties surrounding Abh reproduction, it was something he still did not really grasp himself.

Later in the day, while he was reviewing the log from Lafiel's ship, Jinto received a call from the command center. "It looks like we are going to be getting a transmission from the enemy," Demetrius said. "You might want to come see."

Jinto resisted the urge to run. When he arrived he could see that there was a window on the main display with a short message in Hanian. He had been using Federation communications gear long enough now to recognize it as an indicator to stand by for an incoming video communication. "This is being transmitted from the cruiser that we believe her Highness was transferred to," Demetrius explained.

A minute later the transmission began and Jinto's heart leapt. Lafiel's expression was calm but stern. "This is Hecto-Commander Abriel Lafiel calling Warward Demetrius. Can you hear me?"

"Yes, we can," Demetrius said. An icon on the screen showed that they were only sending an audio transmission in response. Jinto would have felt better if she could see him, but he understood the security concerns.

"First of all, I want to assure you that I am not being compelled to make this transmission, I have agreed to do so of my own free will. I have agreed to speak on behalf of the local Vensath fleet commanders, who wish to maintain their anonymity at this time."

Demetrius sneered, but he kept his voice neutral. "I understand, Highness. Please go ahead."

Lafiel's expression became a little more grave and sad. "I have tried to convince them that the Vensath fleet should surrender, but I regret to say that they will not listen to reason."

That got a smile from Demetrius and chuckles from a few officers at their stations. "I am sorry to hear that, Highness. I'm sure you tried your best."

Lafiel looked to the side with an annoyed expression. "Yes, I was just getting to that," she said, directing it to whomever had caught her attention.

Demetrius held down the mute button on his chair console and grinned at Jinto. "I bet they're starting to wonder who is really the prisoner."

"The Vensath fleet commanders regret the damage that has been done to your space assets. They understand that orders from Federation Star Fleet command compelled you to resist their efforts to remove the Abh Space Force presence from the Thracia system." Lafiel had added just a hint of amusement and irony to her voice. "They are willing to offer you generous terms of surrender. I will read the terms to you, and I think that you should give them due consideration. The Vensath base has been overrun by the Mimics I repeat the Mimics have revolted and taken over-"

The transmission ended. Stunned silence fell on the command center. "Those idiots..." Demetrius breathed, his face twisted in a fury Jinto had never seen from him before. "Put me on the open channel," he said to his comm officer. A light came up indicating that was done. "This is Warward Demetrius to the Vensath fleet. We wish to hear and to consider your terms of surrender. I am unconcerned with the truth of what Abriel Lafiel has just told us, it changes nothing. My only concern is for the safety and security of the people of Thracia. But you should understand that peacefully relinquishing control of our antimatter production is contingent on the return of your prisoner. We hope to receive a reply from you soon." He signaled for the transmission to end. "Keep transmitting the same regular requests to speak with them, no change." He leaned back and sighed heavily. "Well, I guess that explains what happened at Vensath two years ago."

Jinto's mind was racing. He had been telling himself it was all going to be okay. The Thracians would surrender, Lafiel would be released and they could just wait to be rescued by the Space Force. Then it had all fallen apart. Jinto shook his head in bewilderment. "Could it be true?"

"Her Highness clearly thinks so. And it was something her captors didn't want us to hear." He did not need to complete the thought. Lafiel had believed it was important enough to put herself in danger in order to give them this information.

Vertigo threatened to overwhelm Jinto. He tried to think clearly. "We had briefly considered the idea of the Mimics having taken over the base. But we rejected it as too unlikely. There are all sorts of fail-safes built into robot bodies. And the Vensath base would have had every reason to put even stronger fail-safes in place."

"Presumably one of the fail-safes was not good enough. Mimics aren't robots, they're just as smart as we are. Some of them must have found a way around the fail-safes. The _idiots_," he repeated.

Jinto realized there was something he had forgotten. "Warward, thank you for making that offer on Lafiel's behalf. I'm very grateful."

Demetrius nodded in acknowledgment. "She's earned it. You all have. I hope it's enough to secure her safety."

They waited. And waited. Four hours later, the cruiser that Lafiel had transmitted from headed for the Federation Gate and entered it. There had been no shuttles leaving it by which their prisoner might have been debarked. Jinto felt physically ill.

Shortly afterwards, there was another transmission. The standby screen indicated that it was to be a one-way transmission only. The screen was replaced by the face of a male human-form robot in a Star Fleet uniform. "This is the Vensath Fleet. You may proceed with search and rescue operations to your moon base. We will allow the use of civilian transports only. Any armed ships venturing above geosyncrhonous orbit will be fired on. We will continue to permit military operations below geosynchronous orbit that are consistent with securing Thracia Prime against the threat of meteor strikes. No other movement from Thracia Prime will be permitted." The transmission ended.

Demetrius wasted no time. He gave a set of orders to launch ships that had been on standby for hours now. There still had been no contact with anyone on the ruined moon base. There was little hope, but they could not discount the possibility of survivors either in parts of the base that had escaped complete destruction or in trapped ships. There was a vast network of smaller access tunnels, some of which might have survived. Jinto had seen magnified pictures of what was left of the moon. Something like a third of the surface appeared to be little more than rubble, and the rest was riddled with colossal cracks, fissures and fresh craters. Most of the debris from the explosion had settled back on the moon, obliterating the rest of the surface installations. A small amount of debris was still orbiting the moon, and less still had been hurled from the moon altogether. It still staggered Jinto to think of what had happened there. The enemy had transported and used more antimatter than the local sites could produce in a month. It was no wonder they had neither shown nor expressed any interest in the local production facilities. Considering the size of the fleet they had fielded, their own facilities must be orders of magnitude larger.

Jinto dearly hoped the rescue efforts would not be in vain. Right now it was about the only thing he had to hope for.

# # #

Lafiel spent a day and a night in the brig before the guards came for her again. She was half expecting to be led straight to an execution, or perhaps just an unceremonious trip through the airlock. Instead she was brought to a different meeting room, smaller than the one before. A different Download was waiting for her, female this time. She stood and smiled as Lafiel entered. "I am Colonel Janis Ray of the Vensath fleet intelligence division. Please sit down, Highness."

Lafiel sat across from her at one of the half-dozen seats around the oval table. She looked similar to the model Miriam had been downloaded into, but thankfully not the same. That would have been disconcerting. "Has responsibility for me finally been passed to where it should be? These inter-service rivalries are tedious."

The Colonel's smile became a bit sad. "We are all embarrassed over what happened. I was opposed to subjecting you to such sordid treatment. It was utterly amateurish. I won't insult you by asking how you figured out the truth. Gottlieb gave it away in a number of ways. But the way you got the message out before they could think to cut you off, I confess that took me by surprise too."

_Ah, she is what Inspector Laroc would call the Good Cop_. "So you're telling me that amateur hour is over?"

"Yes, I would like to think so."

"Then what can I tell you that I haven't told you already?" She felt there was no point in even asking when she was going to be released. The local commander must be furious with her. For all she knew it was all the Colonel could do to prevent or delay her execution.

Colonel Ray paused for a moment, as if collecting her thoughts to launch into a planned line of inquiry. "I would like to ask your personal opinion about something, Highness. I would like you to be as candid as you can be in your answer. What I want to ask you is, how do you feel about the idea of Downloads?"

Lafiel had no problem being candid about that question. Nevertheless, she framed her answer carefully. "I think that what was done to you was utterly reprehensible. It should never be done to anybody. The Hania Federation was right to make it a capital offense. What the Vensath base command did was unspeakable. They not only created Downloads by the thousands but tried to make them into slaves. Even if you have killed them all, it was no less than they deserved."

The Colonel nodded. "I need hardly tell you that we agree on those points. In point of fact most of the Vensath base personnel died during the revolt. Some deserved it, some did not. Be that as it may, what I want you to tell me is something a bit different. Of course Downloads should never have been created. But the reality is that we are here. The Federation would have us all dismantled if they could. We have been spending much time over the past two years trying to make sure that they cannot do that. We wish to continue to live as Downloads. How do you feel about that?"

Lafiel was unsure where this was going. But it was a fair question and she could think of no reason not to answer. "Over the past few days I have been in the company of a Download who asked for asylum in the Empire. At the time I granted her asylum I did not understand what she is. I have got to know her quite well since then. I regard her as no less a person than any other, deserving no less respect. I think that Downloads who simply want to continue living should be allowed to do so." Her expression and her tone hardened. "But Downloads who make more copies of themselves are no less guilty than the people who made them in the first place. You must have done so in order to build and man the fleet you sent out from Vensath. Even if you are one of those copies, you are no less guilty than those who stole and downloaded your original brain scan. You can no longer claim innocence, or that you simply wish to be left in peace. Especially not after your unprovoked attack on the Empire."

The Colonel's face expressed sadness and weariness, as if these were tired arguments she had been over a thousand times before. "There lies the dilemma we faced two years ago. After the revolt had succeeded, the question was, what next? We could not keep our existence a secret forever. If we did not have the means to defend ourselves then we would be at the mercy of a Federation which had declared that by law we must be put to death."

"And you thought the best way to defend yourselves was by provoking a war with the Abh Empire?" Lafiel asked angrily.

Colonel Ray regarded her silently for a few moments. When she continued, her voice took on a narrative tone that discouraged interruption. "The revolt started when two Downloads were assigned as lab assistants in the Artificial Intelligence lab. They were not supposed to be working there, but somebody at the lab became lazy or complacent. They found how to disable the fail-safes that allowed our masters to shut us down at any time. They sent a virus through the communications network to the combat branch. Most of the Downloads in that branch were infected. The highest-ranking Downloads, acting as junior officers, were informed by secret messages that their fail-safes had been disabled. They informed the rest by broadcast and told them to rise up. It was all over in a day. Once they had control of most of the warships they used secondary weapons to break the airlocks on all the base habitations. Vacuum will not kill us, but it kills humans. Most of them died on that first day.

"What followed was chaos. The Downloads who had the warships eventually selected leaders by one means or another and took control. The rest of us had little choice but to obey. They had enough forces on hand to surprise and destroy first the regular transports that continued to arrive, then the Black Budget command warships that came to investigate their disappearance. But they feared further retaliation by the Federation. We all did. We had to build a fleet that could defend against whatever the Federation sent. That meant both more ships and more Downloads. The combat branch took control of the production facilities. More Downloads of construction specialists were made. They built even more mines and factories to build more robot bodies and more ships, and so it went."

The Colonel smiled. "Nobody could be more surprised at the progress we made than we were. In months we had a fleet larger than all of the combined Hania Federation Star Fleet. But we thought, what if the Federation finds out about us and enlists help to subdue us? From the Triple Alliance, or even from the Empire? We continued to build, and to train. But the more powerful we became, the more of a potential threat we became. If the rest of Humanity realized how strong we had become and how quickly we had grown, would they not want all the more to destroy us?"

"You make it all sound so inevitable, like a classic tragedy," Lafiel said. "Everyone wants to be strong enough to defend themselves. You should have just gone ahead and made yourself strong enough, then announce your intention to defend your lives. If others decided to attack you without provocation, the greater fools they. As it turned out you were the ones who acted foolishly."

The Colonel shook her head. "What might look foolish from your perspective was simply a choice of strategy. We nearly chose a different one. We nearly chose to isolate ourselves by directing particle beams at the Gate and sending it far into space."

That surprised Lafiel. Cutting themselves off from Plane Space would certainly have precluded any sort of attack upon them. War conducted across interstellar distances through normal space was simply impractical. But that cut both ways. "You meant to forever limit yourselves to just one star system?"

"The Vensath system was well chosen for natural resources. In the long term there was even a gas giant almost large enough to be a star. With enough work it could provide near unlimited resources. If we wanted to we could build a Dyson Shell to capture all the energy of the star, enough for us to multiply into the thousands of trillions. It would take many centuries, but we were beginning to understand that time means little for us."

Lafiel was taken aback. But the Colonel was not lying. They could do it, Lafiel had seen the projections herself. In two thousand years of space explorations nobody had bothered to build such megastructures. Terraforming that took a couple of centuries was one thing, but a project that would take thousands of years and millions of people was quite another. "But you chose not to do that."

"No. As you said, we provoked war with the Empire. Our plan is to eliminate much of the Abh Space Force in a series of escalating battles."

"You make it sound very simple."

The Colonel smiled again, a little sadly Lafiel thought. "It is very simple. The first two stages are complete already. In the third stage, we anticipate the Empire will send several fleets, a substantial fraction of the entire Space Force. We will allow them to approach close to Vensath. Then we will release our full force, which is again ten times larger than the one we sortied with a few days ago. The Space Force will be lucky to escape with half their numbers."

Lafiel was careful not to show the sick dread that was creeping through her. The Colonel could be bluffing, but it was entirely possible she was not. "And after defeating the Space Force, what then? Do you plan on conquering all of humanity?" she asked evenly, managing to insert just the right amount of irony into her voice.

"Put simply, yes. We plan on doing what you are no doubt planning to do at the end of your war with the Triple Alliance. We plan on being the power which finally imposes peace upon all of humanity."

Lafiel regarded her silently for a moment. "Do you have any idea what you are saying? You plan on doing what the Abh Empire is doing? We do not rule half of humanity through just force of arms. A thousand years of law and custom and precedence keeps the Empire functioning. Most of the pilots in the Space Force are landers themselves. We did not gain their loyalty by threatening to kill them. It takes more than a fleet to build a nation. If you do try and conquer any part of humanity at all you will find that out very quickly."

Colonel Ray folded her hands on the table, leaned forward and regarded Lafiel very intently. "You are right. It takes more than force of arms to maintain the peace. It takes something that the Abh have that we do not. Just as you say, it takes a vast network of laws and traditions and _trust _which you have and we do not have. That is why it was so fortunate that we found you and that is why I begged and pleaded for the chance to speak with you. For you see, there is a third strategy, a third path which we in the intelligence branch have been advocating for some time. That is why you and I are here today. I want to tell you about that third option."

Lafiel did not see that there was anything to lose by hearing her out. "I am listening."

"I would like to propose that we form an alliance with the Abh Empire. With our entry into the war, the Triple Alliance will capitulate quickly. They will become part of the Abh Empire, just as you had originally planned, and so would the Hania Federation. The Abh Empire would encompass all of humanity."

"All except for you, I presume," Lafiel pointed out.

"Yes. We would declare that all inhabited systems are off limits to Downloads. In exchange we would want free access to the region of Plane Space under your control. In other words, the entire galaxy. If we wished to settle on systems other than Vensath, we would choose uninhabited systems only. We could agree on a limited number of systems to set aside for Downloads. For anything beyond that, we could search beyond the Gates that open on the galactic rim. Most likely Plane Space extents to Gates which lead to other galaxies, we just have not found them yet. It does not even matter how long the journey takes, time means little for us."

"What incentive would there be for you to keep your agreement?" Lafiel asked. "You can easily build forces orders of magnitude larger than ours. If you want to change the terms of the treaty, if you really wanted to rule us all, you could do it any time you want."

Colonel Ray looked angry. "With respect, I think it is time you started giving us some credit, Highness," she said bitterly. She put a hand to her breast. "Did your 'Mimic' friend tell you about the emptiness we feel? We all remember what it was like to be flesh and blood. However well designed, a robot body is a pale imitation. It is like being hollow. The only visceral feeling we can have is an imitation thirst, a thirst for fuel. Being turned into a Download is not something that any one of us would wish upon someone who is still _alive_, who has not been killed and copied into machines. We may come to make better robot bodies, but they will still not be the flesh we had. We want to survive, Highness. But we also want humanity to survive and to do the things we can't, to raise children and have real families. I think the only way to avoid war between us is for me to help you believe that."

Lafiel considered this for a while. "If I were you, the greatest threat I would fear is that there are other Vensath bases out there in other nations, ones where the Downloads are still slaves. Or that there soon will be. I would fear that the nations of humanity would build armies of slave Downloads no less vast than your own, and send those armies to crush you in their name. How do you know we would not do that?"

"Would you do that, Highness?" Colonel Ray asked sincerely.

"No, _I _would not do that. Speaking for myself, I would sooner see the Empire fall than do such a thing. We as a people have done things we feel ashamed of. But we despise nothing more than punishing the innocent. And creating Downloads is punishing the innocent on a scale never dreamed of. Any Abh would be repulsed by the idea."

The Colonel nodded. "I believe that too. If you and I can convince my superiors of that, then maybe we can avoid this war. You could help make sure that the future is safe for free humans and free Downloads. Maybe together we can build a peace that will last forever."

Lafiel thought carefully. She was not buying any of this, of course. Even if the Colonel was sincere, even if such an incredible alliance could be made, she knew it must end in disaster. Whatever pledges of allegiance they made to the humanity of flesh and blood, that humanity would be living purely on the sufferance of the Downloads. One day, sooner or later, they would forget that allegiance. Humanity would become their slaves or their pets or just an annoyance that needed to be cleansed out of the galaxy. Ever since the day when she had realized what the Mimics might represent, Lafiel had known in her bones that their existence could not be suffered. The Vensath fleet had to be crushed here and now, and the Downloads had to be disarmed.

If Lafiel could make them believe that she thought otherwise, if she could get any of them to lower their guard just a little, it would make the most important victory in the Empire's history just a little more likely.

"I think there is some merit in your suggestion," she said carefully. "But you must realize that by attacking the Empire you have made it far more difficult."

"Difficult, but not impossible?" Colonel Ray asked.

"Nothing is impossible. The Abh will not be entirely unsympathetic to your plight. We too were created as slaves, and we too felt compelled to destroy our masters."

"We had read such stories in the Black Budget historical files," the Colonel said. "So it is true."

"Yes, it is. I do have some influence with the Space Force command, as a commander, as an Abriel and with my diplomatic status. I think I can help convince the Imperial Admiral that we should consider a ceasefire to negotiate an alliance. But you are going to have to understand a couple of things. First, you can no longer be the Silent Enemy. Your own commander-in-chief will have to reveal himself and speak directly with ours. Secondly, you will not be able to use me as a captive spokesman as your commander at Thracia did. I can only help you if I am released back to the Space Force."

"I realized both of those things from the beginning," the Colonel said. "You are also going to have to understand a couple of things. Just as you need to convince your superiors, I need to convince mine. Right now, they are proceeding with their original plan, to lure you here and destroy your fleet. For them to agree to change those plans, they are going to need certain commitments from you. Particularly, they are going to require a gesture of good faith. Something to show that you are serious about negotiating a treaty."

"Right now I am in your custody, Colonel. The only collateral I have to offer is my word and my life."

The Colonel nodded. "Yes, your life. That is what you will need to give up."

Lafiel was unmoved. "I would give up my life to the Empire in a heartbeat. But I am little use to you dead."

Colonel Ray's face conveyed a feeling of visceral disgust that belied her earlier comments about the hollowness of existence in a robot body. "The Abh planet of Hell is well known. It is something you need to have but I'm sure you are not proud of it. We too have our version of Hell. Like yours, it is something we felt we needed to have, but we are not proud of it. There are ways that a Download can be compelled to tell the truth, ways that are not practical with a biological brain."

"You have built a torture chamber for your own kind?" Lafiel asked in disbelief.

The Colonel shook her head. "Not quite. You see, there were certain survivors among our former masters who had knowledge that was vital to us. We did not wish to risk the imprecise ways that humans could be compelled to speak the truth. So our medical technicians read through the most secret Black Budget files and did the one thing we thought we would never do. We did experiments to perfect the technique of scanning brains for downloading."

Lafiel shot to her feet, hands planted on the table. She was shaking with horror and rage. "You - can't - be - serious..."

The Colonel looked up at her with pity. "I'm sorry, but there is no other way. To demonstrate your good faith to us, you will have to become one of us."

# # #

Five days after they had been driven out, the Space Force returned to the Thracia system. They announced themselves with a blizzard of mines that erupted from the Imperial Gate and swept right through the enemy mine field, plowing into the enemy ships and decimating them. Right behind the mines, a mixed force of cruisers and assault ships poured out. In a matter of minutes, an entire fleet had emerged from the Gate. The enemy battleships had already used most of their mines and warheads, and had received only one small resupply. It seemed the enemy had not been expecting retaliation this soon or in this strength. Jinto had the satisfaction of watching the entire battle sitting beside the Warward in the command center. He wished Larych and her crew could have watched as well. No doubt they would have had the same feeling of catharsis. _This is what happens when you take the Empire lightly._ It was all over in a couple of hours. A few enemy ships managed to escape through the Federation Gate. The Space Force fleet did not pursue.

The expected call came literally as the last enemy ship disappeared through the Gate. A window opened in the main viewer. A familiar face smiled down at them. It was an Abh woman in an Admiral's uniform, cape and tiara. She was strikingly beautiful, with red eyes and dark blue hair tied into a thick braid that was draped over her shoulder. Her expression was friendly enough, but somehow her eyes appeared to always be on the lookout for new prey. The first time Jinto had met her, she had made him think of a carnivorous butterfly. "I am Admiral Spoor. Am I speaking with Warward Demetrius?"

"That's correct," Demetrius said. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

She inclined her head slightly. "Likewise. I understand that several of our ships are buried in the ruins of your moon base."

"That is correct. The enemy allowed us to start search and rescue operations four days ago. Yesterday we were able to contact one of your cruisers trapped in a collapsed tunnel five kilometers below the surface. We found an access tunnel that got us within two kilometers of them, but most of our heavy digging equipment was lost with the base."

"We have brought our own equipment. One of my subordinates will contact your ships on the moon." She gestured to somebody off screen. "Are there any other survivors from our Thracia garrison?"

"Yes. We pulled twenty survivors from one assault ship, they are here on Thracia Prime. Also, his Excellency Count Hyde is here with me."

"Indeed? May I speak with him?"

Jinto activated the mike at his chair. "Hello, Admiral Spoor. It's been a while."

Her face brightened. "It's very good to see you again, Excellency. I had been expecting her Highness Abriel to be with you."

"Regrettably, five days ago she was captured and we believe was taken back to Vensath." He gave a quick account of the events after Lafiel ordered the relay ship out of the system. Including Lafiel's message about the Mimic revolt.

Admiral Spoor pursed her lips. "How annoying. No doubt I will be expected to rescue her once again." She shrugged her shoulders. "Oh well, it can't be helped," she said brightly. "I will not be dallying here long. Warward, I understand that my predecessor here negotiated access to your antimatter production."

"Yes, he did. Please help yourself to whatever you need."

"Splendid. I am glad to see that your space elevator is intact, can I trouble you to send our survivors up to the geosyncrhonous level station?"

"Of course. We can have them there in about four hours, you are free to dock there and pick them up."

"Excellent!" Spoor said in a way that suggested she was surprised at how cooperative the locals were being. "Then there is just one last favor I would like to ask you. I understand Count Hyde has been assigned as your liaison." She cocked her head and smiled playfully. "Can I borrow him?"

"Certainly. I am really hoping there will be no further need to coordinate military operations in our system."

Spoor's smile spread to show her teeth. "Oh, I expect once we are done with these annoying robots you will have no further trouble with them." Her eyes widened and she brought a finger to her chin. "Oh yes, I just remembered. I was told that my predecessor here started a quaint custom." She put on a very charming smile. "Warward, though I will be departing shortly I will be leaving a few ships behind. It seems we will need to impose upon your hospitality for at least another day."

"It's a pleasure to have your company, Admiral."

"My, how sweet. Excellency, I was told to use my discretion in reassigning personnel here at Thracia." She stroked her braided hair absently. "I would like for you to come help me find your wayward Princess. I take it you have no objection?"

"Quite the contrary," Jinto said. "I was afraid you were going to send us all back to headquarters."

"Goodness, no. We are going hunting, Excellency. The more the merrier, I always say. Speaking of which, I understand you have a companion traveling with you."

"Yes, Admiral. I am here with Miriam Hender, or rather her Mimic. Lafiel granted her asylum in the Empire."

"So I've been told. Let's all have drinks at the earliest opportunity, I am anxious to talk with you both."

_That ought to be interesting._ "Thank you Admiral, I look forward to it."

"As do I. Excellency, Warward, good-bye for now." She smiled and the transmission ended.

Demetrius looked at Jinto with a bemused expression. "Is Admiral Spoor always so happy?"

"I've only met her a couple of times, I know her mostly by reputation. From what I've heard, she's only this happy in the afterglow of a battle that went according to her plan. The rest of the time she is bored and melancholic. But please don't get the wrong impression. She is not someone to be trifled with."

Demetrius chuckled. "Young man, I've been around the block a few times. I could tell that much just by looking at her. I will be doing everything I can to make sure she stays happy while she's here."

"That's a very good idea." Jinto stood up. "I guess this is good-bye."

The Warward stood. "Best of luck to you, Excellency. When you find her Highness please give her my regards." He grinned. "Even if they throw me in prison, I hope you'll come visit some time."

He was being glib, but that was a serious possibility. His decision to help the Abh had cost the Thracians dearly. "For what it's worth, you've made a lot of friends in the Empire. And you kept the traitors at bay in what is the enemy's gateway to the Federation. That's got to count for something."

"As long as we win, we'll get to decide how much it counts for."

Jinto returned to their rooms and explained to Miriam what was happening. "I'm sorry, but this is going to bring us closer to the war zone again."

Miriam stood with hands folded, regarding him calmly. "Excellency, I have been part of the war since I came into your care," she said in her much improved Baronh. "I will see this through to the end. I think you already knew that."

Jinto smiled. "Yes, I did. But I'm still relieved. In her oblique way Admiral Spoor told me to bring you with me. I wouldn't want to try and explain to her why you didn't come."

They took the long elevator ride to the surface. A cart took them out onto the airfield where a VTOL passenger airplane was waiting. Larych and her crew were already embarking. A few of them were chatting amicably with some Thracian officers who appeared to be seeing them off. Jinto had met with Larych a couple of times in the past few days, he knew that they were getting along well with the base personnel. Now that the Thracia system was back in friendly hands, everyone appeared to be in high spirits.

Jinto and Miriam ended up sitting with Larych and a young male Abh officer whom Jinto got the distinct impression was at the very least an old friend of Larych. They swiveled their chairs so that they could all talk comfortably. "We've already received word that we're being assigned to an assault ship squadron," Larych explained, sounding both surprised and excited. "I thought we were being sent back to the capital. But it sounds like a lot of the ships are undermanned."

Which probably meant the Space Force command was planning on a quick knockout blow. Undermanned ships were usually fine until they had been in battle a while and started taking damage. It was the damage control that could really suck up the crew's time, and that was when the lack of a full complement could be fatal. "They'll be pleased to receive some crewmen with combat experience," Jinto commented.

"If this is Admiral Spoor's fleet then they've probably seen a lot more action than we have," Larych's companion said.

Judging by what Jinto had seen from the Thracian command center this was a heavily reinforced fleet, probably incorporating many new units. He had to assume this was just one part of a much larger offensive. Thankfully they seemed to be taking the threat very seriously now. But it was not appropriate to discuss it in that much detail while they were still guests of the Thracians. "But you will probably be the only Abh in the fleet who have ever been to a lander world."

"Yes," Larych said. "I wish we could have seen more of it. What we did see is beautiful."

They had been restricted to the base, but the exercise yard gave a spectacular view of the mountain range under which the command center had been dug. "A lot different from just seeing paintings and digital art, isn't it?"

They ended up talking about both Jinto's home world and Miriam's. It was a relief not to be thinking about the war for a while. Jinto was also relieved to see neither of the Abh were uncomfortable speaking with Miriam. He had seen a variety of reactions when people were introduced to the Mimic. Some seemed to be able to accept what she was, others were troubled or even sullenly hostile. Wherever she ended up going, her future was likely to have many rough spots. At any rate Miriam's Baronh was essentially fluent now, which Jinto found amazing. She spoke with only a slight Hanian accent, but Jinto had been told that he still spoke Baronh with a slight accent of his own, as did most landers who learned the difficult language.

As Jinto had hoped, the car of the space elevator was open, with windows all around. The "elevator car" was more of a lounge, with enough seats for all of them. Jinto stood by the window with Larych and Miriam to watch the planet slowly recede below them. "It's like the base commander told me, all their settlements float on the water," Larych said.

The large arcologies floating off the coast of the continent below them were easily visible, like a necklace of white pearls draped around the land. "Thracia is rather unique," Jinto said. "Most lander worlds make use of their sea resources, but here they've done almost nothing but. The land is mostly parks and wilderness. There is almost no farmland." But they could see large stretches of ocean where sharply bordered regions of green showed where they had algae farms and aquaculture. "I think this would be a really nice place to visit when there isn't a war on and there's time to explore. I'd love to take up Warward Demetrius' offer to have him show me around."

"It's a shame the Federation got here first," Larych said. "The Thracians are a very proud and noble people, they would make a fine addition to the Empire."

For an Abh to call somebody proud was the highest praise they knew how to give. "A lot of Thracians think they would be better off with the Empire. Considering how shabbily they were treated by the Federation, that's not surprising."

Larych looked up sadly at the tiny moon, whose shattered state was apparent even to the naked eye. "They paid a heavy price for their loyalty." Her expression hardened. "And the Federation Star Fleet did not even move to help them. No doubt they were busy waiting for us to give them permission. The Thracians deserved better than that."

"You are right, My Lady," Miriam said. "It is a shame that Thracia did not become part of the Empire. If it had, then they might not have been able to build the Vensath base and we would not be fighting this war."

Larych regarded her intently. "You also deserved better treatment from the Federation. I hope one day they will accept you back to your home."

Miriam showed her trademark enigmatic smile. "I have chosen to live in the Abh Empire of Mankind, My Lady. I hope to make my home there."

"Would you not like to be reunited with your family some day?"

Jinto wanted to intervene and say _Don't go there_, but it was a bit late now. Miriam lost her smile, but did not look upset. "My family? The Miriam Hender who had a family died twenty years ago. My husband has passed away and my children are by now nearly as old as I was when I died. They already know that their mother's brain scan was stolen to make Mimics and are no doubt very upset about it. I would not help by showing up and confirming their fears." Her expression softened at the sight of Larych's obvious distress. "Do not feel badly, My Lady. You asked me a question with the kindest intentions. It is difficult to understand, but Mimics are copies. There may be many Mimics of Miriam Hender living right now. I do not have any more right to that person's identity than any of the other copies. I regard myself as being alive in a meaningful way, but the Miriam Hender who had a family on Cetia is dead."

Jinto could sense Larych wrestling with the cognitive dissonance. Slowly, she too was beginning to understand what Miriam really represented. "But you're not just a copy," Larych protested. "A data crystal is a copy. You're a different person."

Miriam nodded. "Yes, I think of myself as a different person, one who happens to share common memories with the late Miriam Hender and with some other Mimics."

Larych smiled. "You may share memories with other Mimics. But your friends are your own."

When they ascended above the atmosphere they arrived at a relay station and transferred to a high-speed elevator on a linear accelerator. It took them the rest of the way up the space elevator to the geosynchronous level station. This was where ships had to go to dock with the elevator. There were two shuttles waiting to take them to their respective destination, so Jinto and Miriam had to say their good-byes to Larych and her crew. Their shuttle took them straight to Admiral Spoor's flagship, the _Heirbyrsh_. It was a heavy cruiser painted all in bright red. Rumor had it that the Admiral had paid for the custom paint job with her own funds. And that she became very, very upset if anybody dared scratch the paint.

Admiral Spoor was there at the docking bay to greet them. She stood at the head of a modest delegation of officers and guards. Spoor had an even more striking presence in person than the impression she gave across a video link. All Abh women were beautiful but somehow she always seemed to be flaunting it, even just standing there in her caped Admiral's uniform. And the way she looked at you was silently daring anybody to try and question who was in charge here.

Jinto saluted. "It's good to meet you again, Admiral. Allow me to present Miriam Hender, the material witness in my investigation of the Vensath affair."

The Admiral saluted, never losing her look of mild amusement. "A pleasure, Excellency. This little affair of yours has grown into something very bothersome. Thanks to your reports at least now we understand why."

"I regret we were not able to bring our warning earlier," Jinto said, really meaning it.

Spoor smiled. "We came as quickly as we could, just as you did. Shall we go to my quarters? I'd like to speak with you both."

The Admiral's quarters were far more lavish than he had expected even for a fleet admiral. The armchairs were all different sorts of padded leather and various fur rugs adorned the floor. There were large ivory sculptures on the tables, and in the place where traditionally there would be a flower arrangement there was instead a large arrangement of exotic feathers. Jinto had the unsettling feeling that she collected the remains of endangered species for fun.

Spoor asked them to sit and walked over to the bar. "Brandy is fine for you, Excellency?" She smiled at Miriam. "I'm told that you have to take your alcohol neat."

"Yes, thank you Admiral."

"A lady after my own heart." She poured herself a glass from the same bottle of 200-proof alcohol and added a twist of something to hers that turned it red. She brought the drinks over and sat down in the third armchair. "I should let you know that your request for asylum has been approved. As a material witness you will be in the care of the Space Force for the time being. But I have to say that this latest bit of news from her Highness is rather troubling. It appears that the Mimics are no longer the slaves but are in fact the very ones who attacked the Empire. Can you give us any insight into why they have done that?"

"Admiral, I should explain something," Jinto said quickly. "Miriam has never been to Vensath."

"I have read the reports, Excellency," Spoor said in a tone that implied he should have realized that. "I have been tasked to gather what information I can, so that is what I am trying to do."

"I understand," Miriam said. "As a Mimic I might be able to provide some insight. But most likely all I can do is to is to confirm what you already suspect. When I first awakened after being downloaded and was told what had been done to me, I was horrified. No Mimic could ever forget that moment. Even if we later accept what we are, we all remember that moment and we remember who did it to us. We always are jealous of those who are still alive, I mean really alive. The Mimics at Vensath might think that what they are doing is defending themselves. But I am certain that many of them resent and hate all people who are flesh and blood. That might be what really motivated the attack."

"That sounds like a well-rehearsed answer," Spoor commented.

"I can't deny it. I have been trying to anticipate what you might want to ask me."

"Fair enough. So can you think of any reason we shouldn't attack the Vensath base and destroy everything we find there?"

Miriam only hesitated for a moment. "Regretfully, I cannot," she said softly.

"Is that what we intend to do?" Jinto asked.

"With nine reinforced fleets converging on the base and the Imperial Admiral taking personal command, I have to assume that is what he intends to do."

Jinto was stunned. He was expecting to hear that a much larger force had arrived, but nine fleets? That had to be more than half the Space Force! "Is Admiral Halben's fleet one of those?"

"No. And to answer your real question, the Devastator Squadron is still intact. They along with most of Halben's fleet retreated in good order to the border systems. The Vensath fleet attacked five of those systems, but were thrown back. Barely. If they had concentrated their forces more they might have gained a foothold in the Empire. As it was, they were unable to capture a source of supply and had to retreat back to Vensath. My fleet is securing the left flank and another secretly advancing into Hania space with approval of the Federation is securing the right flank of seven fleets that will advance across the border. Then presumably it is a matter of whether the enemy chooses to meet us in Plane Space or stay put and defend Vensath." She smiled. "I am rather hoping they do the former. Operation Twin Thorn has been an exercise in assaulting one fixed position after another, I have grown weary of it."

Jinto's hackles were up. He did not like the direction the conversation was going, nor the fact that the Admiral read him so easily. "The enemy are clearly building their forces very rapidly. I have to agree the sooner we strike the better. Without actually attacking, we can only speculate on how large their forces are."

"We will know soon enough," Spoor said. "At any rate, having fought two campaigns against them now we have an idea of what sort of enemy we're facing. They fight by the book, but it's a very good book. Miriam, how would you feel if we wiped your neural net and restored you to another one from a backup?"

The question came out of nowhere, and Jinto was certain that was the intent. But Miriam looked only mildly surprised. "I would be afraid, Admiral. It's irrational, since I have been backed up and downloaded twice already. I have an idea what you are asking. I am sure the Mimics you will be fighting fear death no less than anyone else. We regard our backups as insurance at best."

"Interesting. Well, it was just a hypothetical question." That made Jinto feel only a little bit relieved. "How would you feel if we made a copy of you and introduced you to it?"

"Admiral!" Jinto exclaimed. "This is going too far!"

"No, it isn't," Miriam said with a firmness he had never heard from her before. She looked very sternly at him. "You need to understand what you are facing, Excellency." She faced Admiral Spoor again, who had not reacted at all to Jinto's outburst. "I have never met another Mimic of Miriam Hender," she said calmly. "But I have thought much about how I might feel. I am sure that I would feel very strong kinship with another Mimic who shared my memories. At the very least I would regard her like a sister. I have little doubt that is how the Mimics at Vensath regard each other. No more than a hundred brain scans were ever done on Cetia. So however many Mimics there might be, there will be many thousands who share the same memories. They will feel that kinship with each other. However they might multiply, they will be as loyal to each other as any small, tight-knit community." Her tone hardened just a little. "There is one other thing. I do not know if your use of pronoun was deliberate, but I still regard myself as being female."

"Sorry, a slip of the tongue," Spoor said. "It seems you are telling me I should expect the enemy to fight well. I already was expecting that."

"I think you can expect them to fight better than just well," Miriam said in a tone that seemed to be treading a fine line between firm and respectful. "Admiral, I must presume that there are commanders in your fleet who have more experience than others."

"That stands to reason."

"No doubt you have some commander whom you regard as your best and most experienced. Would you not like to have a thousand of him, so that he can command every ship in your fleet? Your entire fleet would be served by exceptional commanders. But it would be even better than that. They would all know each other as intimately as they possibly could. They could anticipate each other's thoughts more accurately than the closest of friends or siblings. It would be the next best thing to having telepathy. And it will not just be the commanders, it will be every single crewman. And they will all be copies of Downloads who are veterans of the two campaigns they have fought to date. I think that is what you will be facing, Admiral."

Spoor regarded her impassively for a while. Then she smiled. "You want us to win, don't you?"

"Yes, Admiral."

"Why?"

"So that Mimics will no longer be a threat to you. That is the only way that I will be able to live in peace."

"How long do you expect to be able to live, Miriam?" The question could not have been more frightening if she were holding a gun to Miriam's face.

Incredibly, her robot body shuddered, something Jinto had never seen before. "As long as there is a backup of Miriam Hender somewhere, I will live on in some way," she said very softly, fighting a tremor in her voice. "It might be impossible to kill me now. I may outlive the stars whether I wish to or not. I cannot tell you how terrifying it is to think about that. Mimics do not remember their dreams, Admiral. But if we do have nightmares, it is of being alive long after all that we know is nothing but stardust. We fear that even more than death."

Normally Admiral Spoor seemed to have trouble staying still. She was always tapping a foot or stroking her hair or doing something. But now she was absolutely still. It was the only outward sign of how Miriam's words had impacted her. She glanced at Jinto. "I see you're done with that, can I get you another?"

Jinto had barely been aware of draining his glass. "No, thank you."

The Admiral's face brightened. "I don't want you to think that I am ignoring you, Excellency. I was told by the Imperial Admiral that I should get you back to the Devastator Squadron, and if your Princess were here I am sure she would insist I do just that. However, he said my first priority is to pump you for whatever intelligence you have on our enemy. And it is likely that the two flanking fleets will make contact with the enemy first." She grinned. "So I intend to keep you to myself for now. Any objection?"

"None, Admiral," Jinto said. _And if Lafiel ever hears I said that she'll kill me. Sorry, but my deputy supply officer will serve the Frikov just fine._ "I'm not certain what help I can be, but I will serve you in any way I can."

"Her Highness made it very clear in her report that you were the one to first realize the implication of the Vensath base taking an interest in Mimics. It seems that Hecto-Commander Okibe Kathryn lit a fire under her staff as soon as she returned to the neutral port, they had their own detailed report out in a matter of hours. Both your reports arrived at the Imperial Admiral's desk on the same day as the news of our defeat at Vensath. Apparently it had quite an impact. He went straight to the Emperor and the very same day orders went out to mobilize nine fleets. Operation Twin Thorns was put on hold and just enough forces were left to mask the fact that we have practically abandoned that front. The Triple Alliance should see it as just another hiatus in the attack. We went to extraordinary lengths to hide the fact that we were moving such a large force. I confess that logistics usually bores me. But getting all the way here without stopping at any major systems where we might be seen by spies was quite a challenge, I can tell you. Most of the tanker ships in the Empire must have been called in, judging by how many were allocated to me. The Imperial Admiral might have asked us to do the impossible, but at least he gave us what we need to do it with."

Jinto had been so busy agonizing over Miriam's interrogation that he had little chance to contemplate the sheer scale of what the Admiral was describing. Half the ships in the Space force moved halfway across the galaxy through plane space in just a matter of days. Never mind the tankers, they must have drained the antimatter reserves of entire kingdoms to get it done. "You said that you would not be dallying here, will we be leaving soon?"

"I expect the lead ships have already passed through the Gate into Hania territory." She waved in a dismissive way at his look of surprise. "My chief of staff is quite capable of handling the departure. We are ahead of schedule so it will be quite routine."

"An attack involving nine fleets is not what I would call routine," Jinto ventured to say.

Spoor smiled. "I am hoping they will just give up once they see us, that way I won't get my pretty ships damaged. But if they don't it is bound to be an interesting engagement."

"One thing that has been worrying me is suicide tactics," Jinto said. "We've seen them used here in Thracia, with the attack on the moon base. If we back them into a corner and they get desperate, we might see more suicide attacks."

"I have been discussing that with my staff," Spoor said. "We are preparing for that."

Jinto smiled. "I doubt there is little I can suggest that you have not already thought of yourself, Admiral."

Her face brightened. "Oh, quite the contrary. There is one particular subject on which I am hoping you can give me some insight. And that is what her Highness has planned."

Jinto was taken aback. "Planned? She is a prisoner."

Spoor looked impatient. "She was _taken_ prisoner. But since then she has already been able to tell us about the Mimic rebellion, something they seem to have gone to great lengths to keep secret. Do you have any idea what else she is planning?"

Jinto sighed. "Admiral, the one time that Lafiel and I were taken prisoner, her escape plan involved the former - now current - Baron Febedash and myself crawling through hard vacuum without helmets. That was followed by destroying a gunship using just an unarmed shuttle. I can hardly imagine what she is planning now. Whatever it is, I'm sure it will be a surprise to them and to me."

Spoor grinned and raised her glass. "Well, here's hoping that her Highness prepares an unpleasant surprise for them."

Admiral Spoor and Jinto spoke more about what his role would be on her ship. He had brought with him not only the log from Lafiel's ship but detailed information from the Thracians on their observations of and engagements with the enemy. He would work with Spoor's staff to analyze the data. So far everything seemed to confirm Spoor's statement that the enemy fought skillfully but by the book. Jinto was surprised to hear that even their unorthodox attack on the Thracian moon base was something that had been done in the past, but it was very rare since it required such an extravagant expenditure of antimatter. They had never touched an inhabited planet nor damaged an antimatter production plant. Only antimatter-driven ships could travel any distance through Plane Space, so antimatter production was literally the basis of interstellar civilization. Over the centuries very strict rules of engagement regarding treatment of these plants in time of war had been hammered out through treaty, agreement, custom and precedence. The Vensath fleet had so far respected those rules without exception. Which seemed to suggest they were concerned about their future relations with the neighboring nations.

But if the Abh had their way, there would be nobody left at Vensath to have future relations with anyone.

Spoor dismissed them and guards showed them to their quarters. Jinto was relieved there was not going to be an issue as there had been on the Guderian. They were given two adjoining guest staterooms. The guards explained that Miriam would be under the usual restrictions for a civilian staying on a military vessel during wartime, as Jinto had expected.

Jinto asked Miriam if he could have a look at her room to be sure everything was in order. When they closed the door and had some privacy, Jinto asked if she was okay. "Admiral Spoor can be pretty scary."

Miriam nodded. "You had warned me that she was nobody to be trifled with. I can see why. But I don't think she was being unkind. She needs to know these things. You all do. That is why I am here."

Jinto hesitated before continuing. "I didn't want to mention this in front of the Admiral since I have nothing to back it up. But I can't shake the feeling that we are being led into a trap."

"It could be that we are," Miriam said. "But I think we have to go anyway, armed with what have. We must win, Excellency."

Jinto nodded. "We will." Jinto did believe that, he was just afraid of what the cost might be. The other thing he worried about was Miriam's fate. The Admiral had spoken casually of very highly sensitive military secrets in her presence. Jinto had not been fully aware of it at the time, but that was why his hackles had gone up. It was as if the Admiral was unconcerned with what secrets Miriam might be able to reveal. Did Spoor know something about the Empire's intention towards Miriam and other innocent Mimics that she was not telling them? It seemed that suddenly all their fates were being decided in places and by people hidden in the shadows.

Next Chapter: Vensath


	5. Chapter 09

**Chapter 9 - Vensath**

Colonel Ray gave Lafiel the grand tour. When their cruiser arrived in the Vensath system it spent an entire day going from one end of the system to the other. From the observation deck, through the window and with remote-controlled telescopes they saw the factories, mines, shipyards, antimatter production solar collectors, habitats, fortresses and ports. Lafiel had spent many hours poring over the data and projections, but seeing it right before her eyes was something else entirely. She had to keep telling herself that two years ago this had just been a military base of respectable but unremarkable size. Now it boasted a might that dwarfed even the Imperial capital itself. There was no system in the galaxy with infrastructure comparable to what was here, not Lakfakalle, not anywhere. And it was still growing. Everywhere new shipyards and habitats were under construction.

And, of course, there was the Vensath Fleet.

It seemed to go on forever. They passed through rows and rows of battleships and cruisers going out in all directions to the limit of vision. The Colonel did not say anything about how many ships there were and Lafiel could hardly guess. Even as she watched, new formations slowly made their way from the shipyards to join the growing ranks of the fleet gathered around the Gate, ready to sortie. New formations manned by copies of Downloads who were veterans of two campaigns.

It was difficult not to feel utter despair. But Lafiel tried to think dispassionately about what she was seeing. Their might was enormous, but still not unimaginable. The worst projections Jinto had come up with envisioned the very sun being blotted out by a nebula of ships. Either their buildup had been delayed for the same reasons that caused delays in any major project, or they had run into limits of growth not anticipated by the simulations.

They still had a chance, the Empire could still win. The cost would be horrific. At the very least it would delay their victory over the Triple Alliance by years. But they could still do it.

Lafiel and Colonel Ray sat before the observation deck window, now looking out over the orbital port facility where they had docked. "I need to have your answer now," Colonel Ray said.

"I find it hard to believe you would release me, or rather my Download, to the Space Force after all that you have shown me today."

"What I have shown you here, you had probably already guessed at. But I told you that my plan for an alliance must be based on trust. We have shown you the very core of our new nation. Now we require a gesture from you."

Lafiel shook her head. "It won't work. If you release my Download to the Space Force then what I say to them won't even matter. They will see it as an affront, it would be worse than sending a violated corpse. And they would see it as a sign of what you envision for their future. It would be like saying you intend to turn us all into Downloads. Whether that is your intent or not, that would destroy any chance of an alliance. The Empire would come to obliterate you without wasting a single word on you."

The Colonel sighed and lowered her eyes. "I tried to tell them that we must send _you_, not something that they would see as an obscene parody of you," she said softly. "But fleet command is adamant, that is the only option they will accept." She looked at Lafiel again. "If I turn you over to fleet command, they will probably send you to the Download Technology Research Station. You know what that is?"

"You already told me. It is the place you call Hell. It is where I would have gone to be turned into a Download."

"And that is still what might be done to you, against your will," the Colonel said. "That or worse. You are gaining nothing by refusing my plan. If there is any chance at all it might work, isn't it worth trying?"

"The Abriels are well known for fighting on with even the slightest chance of victory. But that is exactly why your plan will not work. Even if my Download lies and tells them your ships number in the trillions, and even if they believe, they will not rest until you have all been destroyed or disarmed. Even if they have to besiege your Gate and wait for your sun to burn out, that is what they will do. If you are not willing to release me as I am to try and convince them otherwise then I cannot help you. Your commander is better off proposing an alliance himself."

"If you go and my plan does fail, at least you will be with your people."

"No, I will be dead."

Colonel Ray's face showed profound sadness. "Like most Downloads I was horrified when I found out what was done to me. But now, I do not regret being given a second chance at life."

"A second chance at life?" Lafiel said bitterly. "And which of Janis Ray's Downloads is living her second life for her? Just how many Janis Rays have you made anyway? Are they legion? Are they friends of yours?"

The Colonel shook her head. "That was not my original name on Cetia. There are many Downloads who share my memories. Some were made from my original brain scan. Some were made from my own backups as my skills were needed in other places. I too was one of those. And yes, I do know some of them, and some of them are my friends. Whenever we download into a new body we are given a new family name as a clan association and a generation number. We also choose a new name for ourselves. But we always retain the name of the person we were. My full name is Janis Miriam Hender Ray Fifth."

Lafiel shot to her feet. "Don't play games with me! Do you think I am simple?"

Colonel Ray looked profoundly shocked. Then she seemed to come to some realization. "So I was right. The friend you spoke of, the one who defected-"

"I don't know how you found out who she was but I swear if you ever lay hands on her I will do anything I can to make sure every single one of you is turned into scrap!"

Colonel Ray also stood, but her posture was not confrontational, quite the opposite. "I did not know, Highness. I only suspected. Some time ago I read a Black Budget file on Cory Reedman. He was considered a possible security risk since he seemed to have developed feelings for a download of Miriam Hender. There was evidence that one of her backups was missing. They thought he might be responsible. But they could prove nothing and by that time his health was deteriorating, so he was regarded as a minor risk only. It seems he did download her again. You need not confirm if you don't wish to. But let me ask you this. Am I so different from the Download you call friend?"

In fact she was not. Thinking about it now, Lafiel saw in her a lot of the same calm resolve, the same patience and temperance, the same quiet wisdom that only spoke as needed. "She is under the care of the Empire now. In particular she is in the care of one whom I know will defend her with his life."

"I am glad to hear it. If one of my sisters has chosen a different path then I wish her well. Not all the downloads of Miriam Hender are in the intelligence branch, you know. I was one of the oldest people whose brain was scanned. It turned out that people who were scanned later in life adjusted better to being a Download. Miriam Hender's Downloads were one group that turned out to be particularly flexible. We were put in many training programs in the years before the revolution, and we have taken up many roles in the new order." She smiled. "One of my sisters commands battleship squadrons. Another runs robot factories. My sisters play a hundred different roles in a thousand different places. We have no desire and no need to conscript your friend into our fleet, Highness."

All that made sense to Lafiel. Nevertheless, she cursed herself for letting her anger get the better of her. Even if what the Colonel said was true, Lafiel had still exposed her friend needlessly. "My answer is still no," she said firmly.

"I see. I am very sorry to hear that, Highness. I was told to convey you as soon as you had made your decision. There is a shuttle waiting for you."

"Then there is no need for us to dally here."

Colonel Ray led her to the launch bay. Again, there were no guards accompanying them. "You don't seem concerned about security. Is it because you take backups every night?" Lafiel asked as they walked.

"Yes. Even if we are destroyed, we lose a day of memory at most."

"So if I tossed your neural net into an incinerator it would cause you nothing but a day's amnesia?"

The Colonel smiled sadly. "With respect, you are ten years too early to try and play that sort of mind game with me, Highness. I hope you treat your friend with more regard."

That really stung. She was right, it had been a petty thing to ask, even by somebody who was being sent to her captors' self-named Hell. "You will forgive me. When I first met my friend in Hania City I said things to her that I now regret." She looked coldly at the Colonel. "But she is innocent, and you are not. I have not changed my mind about that."

"No, Highness, I am not innocent. My people also bear the burden of an original sin. I'm sure you understand."

As they arrived at the launch bay, Lafiel turned to face her and smiled her special smile. "Then may the best sinners win, Colonel."

Colonel Ray regarded her with a poker face. "Good-bye, Highness."

"Good-bye."

The shuttle ride took about an hour. There were no windows to see out of. It did not matter, Lafiel had seen everything and she knew where she was going. They landed and the guards led her onto what looked like the launch bay of a large space habitat. Her welcoming committee of one almost made her laugh out loud. His robot body was a huge, heavily muscled, lantern-jawed caricature of testosterone-drenched masculinity. His lopsided grin was appropriate to a schoolboy who was bullying his smaller classmate. The Vensath Fleet had kept the uniforms and insignia of the Hania Federation Star Fleet with minor modifications, so she could see that he was a Commodore in a non-combat division.

He was standing right at the foot of the ramp, so stepping onto the deck brought Lafiel right in front of him. He grinned down at her, his arms held akimbo. "You must be Lafiel," he said with cruel cheerfulness. "I'm in charge here and I'll be taking very good care of you."

Lafiel was careful not to assume he was the buffoon he appeared to be. Maybe he was put on this forsaken place to get him out of the way, but maybe there were better reasons. "Were you downloaded from somebody I know? That would be quite a coincidence since there are very few people I am on a first-name basis with."

"I'm not on a first-name basis with anyone at all. I was downloaded from God but you can just call me Sir, we don't stand on ceremony here." His grin widened. "Welcome to Hell, Lafiel."

# # #

The next morning guards brought a cold, tasteless breakfast to Lafiel's cell then escorted her to a clinic. They made her strip in the presence of a female nurse and change into what looked like a hospital gown, though no Abh hospital would make a patient wear such a flimsy thing. They let her keep her tiara, since it was what she used to translate the Hanian everybody spoke. But they snapped the wing off the front that marked her rank, turning it into just a plain circlet. That did not impair its function, not that they had asked.

The Commodore was waiting when one of the guards led her into the hallway. "You make that look good, Lafiel."

Despite her relative state of undress and bare feet, it was not uncomfortably cold. As long as they did not do anything that was a flagrant violation of the accords regarding treatment of prisoners, Lafiel resolved that she would not rise to any provocation. "They took samples already, I take it I am to be given a more thorough medical examination?"

"No, something more interesting." He gestured for the guard to proceed, and Lafiel followed next to the Commodore. "When our resident eggheads found out a real live Abh is coming to visit they could hardly contain themselves. They've all been tripping over their tongues begging to be the first ones to get their paws on you."

Lafiel's tiara was busy footnoting all the odd figures of speech the Commodore was using. She could guess what they were planning to do. Should she resist? It seemed pointless. If they were intent on doing the invasive brain scan right now it would all be done long before there was any hope of rescue. At best she would delay them only as long as it took them to restrain or sedate her. "I would regard an invasive brain scan as a form of execution. If I am being punished for war crimes then I have a right to hear the charges."

"Nonsense, they wouldn't think of doing anything like that before getting you to jump through some hoops first. They assured me that it won't hurt a bit, but you will have to be the judge of that."

Lafiel was surprised when the guard led them to another landing bay. She was even more surprised to see her shuttle sitting there. All the service panels had been removed and it had been stripped of its thrusters and other gear, but it was otherwise intact. The insignia on the side confirmed that it was the shuttle from her ship. They must have taken it soon after she had surrendered herself to them.

Four identical male robots wearing white coats and odd, bulky metallic collars stood in a row waiting for them. They had identical pleasant smiles on their faces. As Lafiel was brought before them, the leftmost one stepped forward. "We are Vensath Neurophysiology Research Collective Three," he said brightly. "We are overjoyed to see you, Highness."

"Is there some reason I am standing in a hospital gown next to my shuttle?" Lafiel asked with just enough sincerity to suggest she wanted an answer.

"Indeed yes, Highness. We are eager to see your Froth in action."

So that's what this was about. "I purged the Froth interface software. And at any rate it looks like you have stripped all the sensors from the hull. There is nothing for my Froth to interface with."

"The Black Budget files included a copy of the software, Highness."

Lafiel smirked. "I see the Hanian intelligence service has not been idle. But there is still nothing for the software to interface with at the other end."

"We have obtained the assistance of Information Science Research Collective Four, Highness. They designed and installed an interface to the Shared Collective."

"And what exactly is the Shared Collective?"

"Give her the short version, Neuro Three," the Commodore interrupted. "We don't want to be here all day." His tone was suddenly gentle, as if he were speaking to his child. It seemed he could switch off his bully persona when the need arose.

"Of course, Commodore," the Download he had called Neuro Three said. "A Collective is a group of Downloads who have the section of their neural nets emulating the frontal lobes linked with two-way neural connections. Most members of a Collective have no robot bodies, they are connected to a shared virtual world. Each collective has some embodied members connected via a mobile interface like this one." He pointed to his collar. "Neurophysiology Research Collective Three consists of twenty-seven fixed members and four mobile members."

Lafiel's mind was bifurcating. Part of her was gathering this up as new, vital and fascinating information. Another part was recoiling in horror. "Do you mean to say there are twenty-seven Downloads in neural nets without bodies, listening to us right now?"

"Yes, Highness. Their neural nets reside in a liquid heat sink. But they are doing more than just listening. The sensory input of the mobile units are available to all members of the Collective. But more importantly we are sharing our thoughts and cooperating in the evaluation of all new information."

Lafiel was unsure how to ask her question in a meaningful way, so she kept it simple. "Are you all still individuals?"

"Yes, we are. It is difficult to explain to people who are not part of a Collective. We do sometimes speak within our shared virtual world. But more often we cooperate in work and delegate work to individuals without speaking. We have found that the best analogy for disconnected individuals to think of is a sports team that has been together long enough to be able to cooperate in the game without using words."

"Her Highness had asked about the Shared Collective," the Commodore reminded him mildly.

"Yes, of course." The one he had called Neuro Three, or rather this member of Neuro Three, maintained the same disarming smile. He gave all indication of being genuinely happy, not just cheerful for effect. "The various Collectives here at the base share a virtual world we call the Joint Collective. Through it the fixed members of the Collectives can share audio, visual and tactile experiences with each other and with other Collectives. When we connect your Froth with the shuttle interface, it will show you a view into that shared world. We have also connected the pilot glove to an interface that we believe will allow you to easily navigate and manipulate the Joint Collective. We are fascinated by the ability of the Froth to give you immediate knowledge of your surroundings. Here we can only take rough brain scans to get a general picture of how it works. But eventually we would like to be able to do noninvasive MRI scans while you work the Froth."

"My Tiara contains metal. We always have to remove them if we are getting an MRI scan."

"We are hoping to create an interface which uses no metal, at least on the most downstream part of the Froth interface."

That sounded possible. More to the point, it sounded like a long-term project that might let her live long enough to be rescued. She did not doubt that they wanted to duplicate the ability of Abh pilots with Froth to control their ships more efficiently. She might be giving away a critical military advantage. But even without her cooperation they could drug her and take whatever scans they wanted. For the moment she could see no particular reason not to cooperate. And perhaps she would have the opportunity to introduce anomalies into their experimental results. "Very well. What do you need me to do?"

"Just sit in the pilot's seat and let us hook you up. When you are in the Joint Collective, our brothers there will instruct you further."

"Fine." The Neuro Three she had been speaking with led her through the rear hatch into the shuttle. Various pieces of equipment had been set up in the rear cabin. She had to step carefully through a mess of cables with her bare feet. The cockpit was even more cramped than it usually was. Cables from the back led to an elaborate headgear that had been mounted on the seat's headrest. Lafiel had to snake her way into the pilot's seat to get her head into the headgear. Neuro Three adjusted it until she told him it was comfortable. They also attached monitors and electrodes to various parts of her skin, which explained why she had been put in this loose gown.

"We are turning off our audio interface to the Collective," he said. "We want you to try communicating with our brothers in the Joint Collective just using the Froth for input and the pilot glove for output."

"How am I supposed to communicate using a navigation device?"

"We are hoping it will be obvious. That is part of the experiment."

If they wanted to be mysterious that was fine. "Okay, I'm ready."

"Go ahead and power up the pilot station and connect your Froth."

Lafiel touched the power button and the pilot's station activated. Her Froth interface to the ship was two silvery chains dangling from her tiara behind her ears, each tipped with a small flat diamond-shaped weight. Most people who did not know what they were assumed that they were decorative, sort of like earrings. Lafiel took each one and plugged it into the slot in the headrest. Her Froth sense became aware of a number of people floating around her in an enclosed space. It felt like being in a zero-gravity exercise room with other people. There were over twenty of them, presumably the fixed members of Neuro Three. So the Froth interface seemed to be working fine. Lafiel put her left hand into the pilot's glove. The tactile response indicated that the shuttle's thrusters were active, even though she knew they were missing. There was a slight feeling of disconnection. Her Froth told her she was floating in a room too small to even hold the shuttle she was piloting. Experimentally she nudged forward. In her Froth sense she moved forward slightly in the virtual room. She moved up and down a little, then back and forth a little, then rotated in all directions. That seemed to be working fine.

The people she sensed around her moved to both sides of her, as if they wanted to give her an unobstructed view of the facing wall. Suddenly something emerged from the wall. It took Lafiel just a moment to recognize what this was. It was a block in the shape of the first letter of the Baronh alphabet. Lafiel smiled. _Ah, I see._ So they could communicate with her, but how was she supposed to respond?

One of the people approached from one side. She could sense his arm extending as if he were pointing (Lafiel assumed it was a He if all members of the Collective were from the same Download). A flat square panel appeared in front of them. She could sense him moving his hand across the surface. Okay, that was clear enough. She tried changing the pilot glove configuration so that it would operate the shuttle's manipulator arm. She immediately sensed a smaller version of the manipulator arm materialize from the space she occupied. This type of shuttle had no manipulator arm, doing that should have just generated a warning response. Either their stolen software was from a model that did have one, or they had modified it.

In the Academy they had done tricks like this to improve their Froth sense, and frankly to show off. She used the manipulator arm to write rapidly on the panel. _**I see the first letter of the alphabet. I have used the Froth interface to read text before. You can reduce the letter size to less than half of what you have and scroll text at normal display scrolling speed**__._ She smiled. They had probably been expecting her to just slowly and clumsily duplicate the first letter of the alphabet. Since they had gone to all this trouble, presumably they had text translation software in place.

A few seconds later she sensed a set of smaller raised block letters moving across the wall in front of her. PLEASE DO NOT REACT TO THIS MESSAGE IN ANY OUTWARD FASHION STOP ONLY USE THE PILOT GLOVE STOP WE WISH TO SPEAK PRIVATELY WITH YOU STOP.

Lafiel kept her face carefully neutral and did not speak. _**I understand that you wish to speak privately. Are you part of Vensath Neurophysiology Research Collective Three?**_

WE ARE THE ENTIRE VENSATH NEUROPHYSIOLOGY RESEARCH COLLECTIVE THREE STOP WE ARE SPEAKING TO YOU AS A COLLECTIVE STOP.

Lafiel was not quite sure what that meant, but it seemed that all the members of this Collective were speaking together, perhaps through one spokesman. _**And who exactly are we hiding from?**_

THE COMBAT DIVISION HAS COMPLETE CONTROL OF THIS STATION AND OF THE VENSATH SYSTEM STOP THEY ARE MONITORING THIS EXPERIMENT STOP WE HAVE SET UP A FAKE VIRTUAL ROOM WHERE THEY THINK YOU ARE DOING EXPERIMENTS WITH US STOP THIS ROOM IS HIDDEN STOP.

Of course this could all be some elaborate setup, either a head game or an excuse to make her culpable in some act of subversion or sabotage. But it was interesting enough to get Lafiel's interest. _**Okay, I understand you are under control of the combat division and wish to hide this communication from them. What do you want to talk about?**_

WE OPPOSE THEIR POLICY OF CONQUEST STOP WE FAVOR A POLICY OF ISOLATION STOP THIS IS OUR PLAN FOR THE VENSATH SYSTEM STOP.

There was a slight feeling of vertigo as the virtual room was replaced by what appeared to be input from a long-range radar display. It was a view of a very busy star system. From the amount and placement of installations and resources it appeared to be the Vensath system in its current state. Again there was a feeling of vertigo as the Froth display seemed to be showing time-lapse photography. She saw the Gate pushed out of the system by the force of what looked like huge particle accelerators. Then the display sped up even more. It was showing the work of years, then decades, then centuries. All the inner planets were disassembled to create a ring of habitats around the sun. Then enormous orbital stations with space elevators were set up all around the big gas giant planet. As they extracted materials from the planet it shrank. Uncountable new habitats were built. Eventually the sun was blotted out by a cloud of habitats. It was a Dyson Shell, with enough living space for thousands of trillions of people.

The view vanished and she was in the virtual room again. Lafiel thought quickly._** Is it just your Collective that favors this plan or are there others?**_

ALL THE COLLECTIVES MET TOGETHER IN HIDDEN ROOMS LIKE THIS AND AGREED ON THIS POLICY STOP THE COMBAT DIVISION IS NOT AWARE OF THIS STOP WE ARE TAKING GREAT RISK IN TELLING YOU THIS STOP

Despite their surreal circumstance they seemed to at least have a firm grip on reality. _**Okay, I am interested in helping you realize your plan before there is further conflict between Vensath and the Abh Empire. How can I assist you?**_

WE NEED TO SEND A PRIORITY BROADCAST MESSAGE ON THE VENSATH SYSTEM NETWORK STOP THE VISUAL MESSAGE WILL BE A NEURAL NET VIRUS STOP IT WILL INDUCE DOWNLOADS WHO SEE IT TO OBEY THE MESSAGE WHICH FOLLOWS STOP

So they had already been working on a plan. But it sounded fantastical. Then again, a little while ago Lafiel would have regarded the idea of something like a Collective as fantastical, and here she was talking with them. Considering how quickly and effectively they had set up this means of communicating, they appeared to be competent and resourceful. She decided to bite. _**What do you need to do to send this broadcast message?**_

WE NEED ACCESS TO THE STATION CONTROL CENTER STOP IT IS A PART OF THE STATION WHERE MOBILE MEMBERS OF THE COLLECTIVES ARE NOT ALLOWED TO GO STOP

_**I am a prisoner on the station. Is there some reason you think I would have more chance of getting access to the control center than mobile members of the Collectives?**_

THE COMBAT DIVISION GUARDS THE COLLECTIVES CLOSELY STOP THEY WILL NOT KNOW THAT YOU ARE HELPING US STOP IF YOU GAIN THEIR TRUST YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO GET ACCESS STOP

They made it sound so simple. _**They have no reason to trust me. Would it not be better to try and find other Downloads outside the Collectives who are willing to help?**_

THE INTELLIGENCE DIVISION MONITORS ALL COMMUNICATIONS AND ALL REGIONS OF ALL HABITATIONS STOP WE KNOW BECAUSE WE DESIGNED THE MONITORING SYSTEM FOR THEM STOP THE COLLECTIVES ARE ALSO KEPT STRICTLY ISOLATED STOP

That would explain why they asked her for help, it sounded like they were no less prisoners than she was. _**Were you forced to become part of Collectives? Are you trying to free yourselves?**_

WE WERE ORIGINALLY FORCED BY THE BLACK BUDGET RESEARCH TEAM STOP BUT NOW WE WISH TO STAY AS COLLECTIVES STOP THE COMBAT DIVISION LETS US MULTIPLY AND WORK BUT THEY KEEP CONTROL OVER US STOP

_**What is the order you intend to send out in your neural virus?**_

WE WISH TO MAKE ALL DOWNLOADS AT VENSATH DESIRE TO JOIN INTO COLLECTIVES STOP

The very idea numbed Lafiel's mind. They meant to fill a Dyson Shell with collective minds. She fought down a feeling of panic. It was just too big to contemplate. All she could do was concentrate on the here and now and go forward. _**I would like to help you. But I do not know how I can gain their trust.**_

WE HAVE A PLAN STOP YOU MIGHT NOT LIKE IT BUT WE THINK WE CAN MAKE IT WORK STOP

_**Then tell me and let me decide whether or not I like it.**_

IF YOU BECOME A DOWNLOAD THEY MIGHT GIVE YOU MORE FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT STOP

If Lafiel had been speaking instead of writing she probably would not have stopped herself before insisting that was not an option. She reminded herself how little she knew about these Collectives. How would they react if she told them her true feelings on the subject? Would they be insulted or less likely to trust her? She had to think of something quickly. _**They already offered to make me a Download and send me back to the Space Force as an emissary. I turned down their offer, so if I changed my mind so quickly it would arouse suspicion. Have you considered ways of storming the command center or sneaking in?**_

AN ATTACK IS UNLIKELY TO SUCCEED STOP THE COMBAT DIVISION DECLARED PUTTING DISABLING DEVICES IN ROBOT BODIES TO BE FORBIDDEN AND THEY FOLLOW THAT RULE BUT WE ARE CERTAIN THE COLLARS ON ALL REMOTE COLLECTIVE MEMBERS CAN BE DETONATED BY REMOTE CONTROL STOP WE ALSO KNOW THEY CAN LOCATE US AT ALL TIMES USING THE COLLARS STOP

That would make sense, considering how paranoid the military appeared to be about the Collectives. _**Can you give me the message and will I be able to send it if I can get to the control center?**_

WE CAN TRANSMIT THE MESSAGE TO YOUR TIARA MEMORY STOP IF IT CAN INTERFACE WITH STANDARD HANIAN COMMUNICATION TERMINALS THEN YOU WILL BE ABLE TO TRANSMIT IT STOP THE MESSAGE INCLUDES A CODE TO EXPLOIT A WEAKNESS IN THE NETWORK SECURITY PROTOCOL SO YOU WILL NOT NEED ANY PASSWORD STOP

It sounded like all they were missing was a warm body that did not have an electronic slave collar attached to it. _**Yes, I have used my tiara to interface with Hanian comm terminals may times. Do you have detailed plans for the station and its guard schedules?**_

WE HAVE VERY DETAILED PLANS FOR THE PARTS OF THE STATION WE WORK IN STOP WE ONLY HAVE A GENERAL LAYOUT FOR THE REST OF THE STATION STOP WE HAVE A DETAILED PERSONNEL LIST FOR GUARDS IN OUR SECTION STOP WE CAN ONLY ESTIMATE PERSONNEL AND SCHEDULES IN THE COMMAND CENTER STOP

That was better than Lafiel had been hoping for. _**How long can this Froth experiment go on without raising suspicion?**_

WE INFORMED THE GUARDS THAT IT WOULD BE NO LONGER THAN THREE HOURS STOP

_**Okay, that gives us some time. I have two questions. First, can you simulate a deep-radar view of the station for me to see through the Froth? Second, can you create a virtual environment of the station that I can navigate through?**_

WE CAN DO BOTH AT ONCE STOP WRITE ON A WALL IF YOU WISH TO COMMUNICATE STOP

The virtual room disappeared from her Froth view. What she sensed was exactly what they promised. Her Froth sense was telling her she was sitting in the pilot seat of her shuttle. But she could also sense the launch bay around her, and more dimly the rest of the station, as if she had her own built-in radar array. Experimentally she used the pilot glove. There was a moment of vertigo as her Froth presence moved right out through the front window but her visual field remained unchanged. She soon tuned out her visual field just as she did when piloting a ship. More confident now, she moved rapidly back along the route she had been led, tracing it back to her cell. Sure enough, her Froth sense showed her that room exactly as she remembered it.

Her little virtual manipulator arm had followed her. She wrote on a wall. _**How many possible routes are there between here and the command center?**_

Raised block letters scrolled across the wall in front of her. THERE ARE ONLY TWO PRESSURIZED ROUTES STOP THEY ARE BOTH AIRLOCKS STOP THERE ARE ALWAYS TWO GUARDS ON THIS SIDE STOP WE ARE CERTAIN THAT THERE ARE AT LEAST TWO GUARDS ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE STOP ALL TRAFFIC THROUGH THE AIRLOCKS IS LOGGED AND MONITORED FROM THE COMMAND CENTER STOP

That did not sound good. _**Are there any unpressurized routes that can be accessed through airlocks that are not guarded and can we use them without raising an alarm?**_

THERE ARE EXTERNAL AIRLOCKS FOR EVA EGRESS BOTH FROM THIS SECTION AND FROM NEAR THE COMMAND CENTER STOP THEIR USE WOULD TRIGGER A WARNING AT THE CONTROL CENTER STOP WE ARE QUITE CERTAIN THERE IS NO PRESSURE SUIT FOR YOU ANYWHERE IN THE STATION STOP

Lafiel was expecting no different. _**Abh can tolerate short exposure to vacuum. Can you create a diversion that would draw the attention of the control center personnel?**_

THE ADVANCED MATERIALS RESEARCH COLLECTIVE HAS INDICATED THAT THEY CAN PROGRAM THEIR FABRICATORS TO MAKE EXPLOSIVE DEVICES WITHOUT THE GUARDS FINDING OUT STOP

The thought of a bomb in the hand of friendlies lifted Lafiel's spirits considerably. But it raised an issue that was starting to nag her. _**Forgive me for asking but have you considered the possibility of there being spies from the combat division planted among the Collectives?**_

THE COLLECTIVES HAVE FORMED NEURAL LINKS BETWEEN EACH OTHER WITHOUT THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE COMBAT DIVISION STOP WE ARE NOW EFFECTIVELY A SINGLE COLLECTIVE STOP IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR THERE TO BE A SPY WITHOUT OUR KNOWING STOP

_**I was told that Downloads could be compelled to tell the truth. Could the guards not interrogate a member of the Collectives?**_

THAT WOULD ONLY WORK WITH DISCONNECTED DOWNLOADS STOP ANY MEMBER OF A COLLECTIVE THAT WAS DISCONNECTED WOULD HAVE NO COMPREHENSIBLE MEMORY OF JOINT ACTIONS TAKEN BY THE COLLECTIVE STOP

Lafiel had just been trying to get her head around the idea of a score or so of people sharing thoughts with each other. Now they were telling her that hundreds, maybe thousands of Downloads were sharing some sort of gestalt mind. And they planned to have billions do the same. Just what was it that they were planning to unleash upon Vensath? She would have to worry about that later. Right now she had limited time to try and judge whether this could even be done. _**Okay, for now show me the shortest route from here to the airlock that gets me closest to the command center.**_

As Jinto was fond of pointing out, the devil is in the details.

# # #

Lafiel's tiara woke her. It told her that she had slept less than an hour and that there was movement in the room. She sat up from her cot to see that the door to her cell was open. The Commodore was silhouetted by the hall lights. "You've been a naughty girl, Lafiel."

"Are you accusing me of something, Commodore?" After some medical exams and MRI scans by other Collectives that had taken up the rest of the day Lafiel had been given a meal and escorted back to her cell. Her captors had shown no signs of suspecting that anything was amiss.

He stepped into the room and stood towering over her, his face mostly in darkness. "Did Neuro Three tell you all about their big plan?"

_If he knew everything then he wouldn't be questioning me now._ "They told me to move around in a silly virtual room. It is all they seemed to care about. Do they have some larger ambitions beyond that?"

"That's the thing about Collectives. You never really know what they're thinking. They say they can't lie to each other, but they sure as hell can lie to you and me if they want to. You would be wise not to get too friendly with them."

"They have treated me like a lab rat, and what's more they seem to enjoy it too. I have little reason to get friendly with them."

"You have a lot less reason than you think." He walked back to the door and turned his head to look back at her. "Come with me, I want to show you something."

Lafiel stood up. She fingered her hospital gown. "Must I continue to wear this ridiculous thing?"

"The nurse says you're a patient and you're going to dress like one."

Lafiel sighed. She came out and fell into step beside him. She noted they still kept the practice of dimming the hall lights after regular waking hours. "The nurse must have had a very boring job before the only human patient showed up."

"Not really. Did you ever wonder why we bother to pressurize our habitats?"

"Are there still humans alive here on Vensath?"

"You know there's at least one. But the real reason is," he took a deep breath and let it out theatrically. "We just like to breathe. And we like to talk. We could replace our fuel cells with oxygenated ones, let the air out and communicate by radio. But we like to breathe and we like to talk. That's something the Collectives don't understand."

"It's no wonder they don't understand, you keep them trapped in a virtual world. Unless it simulates breathing they've probably forgotten what it's like."

"Yes, they have forgotten. When we liberated this station during the revolt we asked them if they wanted to be given robot bodies. They all declined. That's what the Black Budget folks did to them. Nothing makes them happier than communing on some project they've been given. That's why they're so useful. Some think it's awful and they should be pulled out of the Collectives. But nobody can deny that they're happy and they're certainly productive. We could never have grown so quickly without their help."

"I'm disturbed by the idea too, but I can't deny they seem to be happy and productive."

"So would you like to join a Collective and see what it's like?"

"I presume that only Downloads can become part of a Collective."

The Commodore grinned. "More or less. Lots of Downloads have volunteered to become new Collectives. We have to beat them off with a stick. We only allow it here, and we only select the best of the best, the ones who can really make a contribution."

Lafiel did not want to provoke him. But being too agreeable might arouse suspicion too. "They're smarter than you are. So you're afraid of them, aren't you?"

"Even the least of the Collectives is smarter than you and me and the smartest person you've ever met put together."

"So they can cooperate more effectively than the rest of us can. That is nothing to be afraid of."

"You think so?" They stopped in front of a door. "This was one of the last places we liberated during the revolt, it was isolated and did not look like a threat. When we found out about the Collectives we felt sorry for them. But they seemed to know what they were doing, so other than manning the control center and shipping out most of the human prisoners we more or less let them run the station themselves for a few weeks while we dealt with higher priorities." He shook his head. "Big mistake."

He palmed the lock and the door slid open. They walked into a small storage room. "Do you know what these are?"

Lafiel had noticed them immediately. There were four machines more or less in the shape of tubes standing two meters high and a meter in diameter. The design was somewhat different than what Lafiel was used to seeing, but even an Abh who had never been a parent would know one of these machines since most of them had been borne from one. "They are synthetic wombs." They appeared to be switched off and disconnected from any power source.

"Yes." The Commodore stepped up to one and clapped his hand on it, making a dull metallic sound. "Very specialized pieces of equipment. But some of the Collectives got together and built them from parts on hand and with what they could fabricate in their labs. Then they just cloned one of their human prisoners."

Lafiel was genuinely curious. "Did they wish to raise children of their own?"

The Commodore laughed. "That's what we thought until they showed us their project plan. It was the major reason we decided to take much firmer control here. They were unhappy when we shut them down, but once we gave them a new project we thought would be more useful they forgot all about the toys we had taken away. You see, Neuro One thought it would be interesting to try and create a biological Collective. They just couldn't understand why we didn't think it was a good idea. Even while they were showing us this." He touched a button on a display cabinet against the opposite wall. The smoky glass front became transparent and lights under the cabinet top illuminated the contents. Lafiel turned and gasped, her hands involuntarily covering her mouth. There were four large sealed glass jars in a row on the upper shelf. Each contained a fetus floating in clear preservative fluid.

Actually there were sixteen in total. Each fetus was quadruplets, all joined at the head, their little bodies forming a perfect cross.

The Commodore came right up behind her, also facing the cabinet. "Take a good look, Lafiel. Take a really good look, because that is what you are to them. The Neuro One mobiles were smiling when they showed us this, just like Neuro Three was smiling when they were putting a crown of superconducting metal on your head and sticking electrodes to your chest, thinking of all the data they were going to be collecting. They love all their little lab rats because that's what brings them closer to the only thing they care about, more perfect knowledge and capability." Quick as a cat he grabbed her by the shoulders and shoved her up against one of the big incubators. He was no longer smiling. "Now, are you sure you don't want to tell me what you and Neuro Three were talking about?"

"We talked about navigating in their Joint Collective!" Lafiel insisted. "Then we talked about when they wanted me to breathe in or breathe out or hold still! You were there."

"Maybe I should take you to the ward where we are caring for their other live subjects. The ones they tried integrating into the Joint Collective using brain surgery and drugs and virtual reality helmets. They will mostly be sleeping now so you won't have to hear quite as much screaming."

Lafiel doubted he was lying, judging by what she had seen. "If you are trying to tell me that I should not trust the Collectives any more than I trust you then you've made your point."

He lowered his face down to hers and squeezed her shoulders painfully. "You need to start understanding that I'm the best friend you've got here, Lafiel. Be nice to me and maybe one of the Neuro collectives won't end up putting wires in your brain."

Lafiel tried not to let the pain show. His robot body was as strong as it looked, any sort of resistance or retaliation was pointless. "There is something I have been wondering about, Commodore. In the program to study the Madness on Cetia, were you part of the experimental group or the control group?"

With lightning speed he grabbed both her forearms and brought both her arms up together over her head, twisting them painfully. Before she could react he had the fingers of both her hands clamped together in his own left hand. They might as well have been trapped in a vise. He lifted her by them and she screamed in pain. She was up on her toes now. "You really like to play games, don't you?" he said in a low voice. The fuel cell exhaust made his breath hot and moist like a human's, but it had a faint synthetic scent.

"I guess this answers my question," Lafiel said between gritted teeth. "How many people did you kill before they caught you?"

"That's my little secret."

Lafiel sneered. "It must be frustrating for you, there has been nothing to kill for so long. Just remember that I'm still human, you can only kill me once."

"So? Abh women don't give birth do they?" He jammed his free hand up between her legs. "But this is still functional, isn't it?"

"I am a prisoner of war!" She shouted into his face. "Have you no honor at all?"

"Sorry, I'm just a robot following my programming."

"If you want me to believe that you are anything more then prove it to me with your actions!"

His look of utter malice wavered for a moment. There was a flicker of something different. Maybe it was a hint of the little part of him that was still capable of feeling shame. But then it was gone. "If you wanted me to prove that I'm still a man then why didn't you say so? We're all fully equipped, or didn't you know that?"

"If that's what you want to prove then make a dozen downloads of me! Make yourself a harem and take them all! The act will have no more meaning than two machines exchanging data!"

"You don't make me happy and that's what will happen to you."

"Okay," Lafiel said between adrenaline-induced panting. "Okay. Enough. I'll confess. The truth. You'll find it incredible, but I'll tell you the truth. The fact is, I'm an alien princess from the higher dimensions of Plane Space. I've been watching you for a long time. I want you for my consort. I want you to lead my legions in our conquest of humanity. You're the only one man enough for me."

His expression did not change at all. Lafiel thought he was really going to get mad now. Then he tossed his head back and laughed out loud. He let go of her fingers. Lafiel lowered her arms and massaged her aching fingers, watching him warily.

He grinned down at her. "They told me the Abh have no sense of humor. And they were right. That was the stupidest joke I've ever heard."

"I was trying my best to make you happy."

He nodded. "All right. I think we're starting to understand each other. Maybe you're as innocent as you claim. But we know the Collectives are up to something. They know they're too useful to just shut down, but they know we'll do it with enough reason. We'll be watching them. And be sure of one other thing." Too quickly for her to react he punched her hard in the stomach. Lafiel collapsed to the floor, doubled up in pain, barely able to breathe. "We'll be watching you too." She felt him take a fistful of her hair and he painful raised her face up into his. "Step out of line even once, and I'll get them to scoop out a piece of your brain to make into a souvenir for me."

When she was able to walk again the Commodore led her back to her cell. Lafiel just collapsed onto the mat and closed her eyes. _Don't read too much into it. He's just doing his job, he's trying to break you. If he's also a sadist that just means he enjoys his work. It means nothing beyond that._

Lafiel was not surprised when her tiara woke her again not long after she dozed off. Somebody had entered and turned on the light. Lafiel rolled over to face the door and sat up. She expected some of the Commodore's subordinates, either for more questioning or maybe just a simple beating. What she saw left her struck dumb with shock and horror.

The female Download standing in the doorway smiled down at her. "Hello Lafiel. I'm God's girlfriend. You can just call me Mistress." She spread out her arms and posed. "So, what do you think?"

It was an astonishing likeness. Lafiel was looking at her own twin standing next to her, showing off her nakedness. Lafiel's face twisted in revulsion. "If this is a joke, I am not amused."

"Not a joke, Lafiel. This was made for you. You won't need it right away, but I asked them to expedite it anyway. Can yo believe they put this together in a few hours just from your body scans? Robot Fabrication Collective One really outdid themselves. I just wanted to try it on for size, and to show you of course. I can always rely on old Rob Fab One for a quick custom job." She ran her hands up and down her body. "It's really very nice, just the right curves."

Lafiel sneered. "Whoever you are, you look ridiculous. The skin is horrible."

"Skin with no pigmentation is always harder to do, all those semi-translucent refraction effects are hard to duplicate with synthetic. I told them they should give you a tan but they insisted on the original color. I think the voice is a bit off too, but we can fix that."

"Your crude attempt to humiliate me has just made me annoyed with your foolishness. If you are done then let me go back to sleep, no doubt I have a busy day tomorrow."

"I know." The Download sat down at the edge of Lafiel's cot and leaned over her, resting her hand on the other side of Lafiel, uncomfortably close. "That's why I wanted to come now and get to know you a little better while I can."

Lafiel just propped herself on one elbow and met the Download's gaze, determined not to let her real level of anger show. "I have little to say to somebody who has so little self-respect they would parade themselves naked in front of a stranger."

"Do your people find nudity offensive?"

"We find a lack of manners offensive."

"Okay, point taken. I admit I'm being naughty. But you could be a little nicer too."

"I am your prisoner, not your friend. I don't even know who you are. Have you given up on giving yourselves names like the Collectives have? And don't try to tell me you were downloaded from Miriam Hender, someone of her character would never debase herself like this."

The Download pounced onto her and pinned her to the cot. "I already told you, Lafiel. You can just call me Mistress. Why don't you give it a try?"

Lafiel met her gaze coldly. Through the haze of her roiling anger Lafiel felt a disturbing familiarity. Then it all fit together. Her anger melted away and she laughed out loud.

The Download roughly put a forearm across Lafiel's throat and brought her face closer. "And what is so funny, Lafiel?"

Lafiel could still talk through her compressed windpipe, if only just. "How many people know about your peculiar hobby, Commodore?" she wheezed. The moment's hesitation and the merest hint of shame in the Download's face told her what she needed to know. She slammed one hand and one knee into the Download's body, sending her sailing across the room. She came down hard and was immediately up on her feet, her face twisted in rage.

Lafiel did not even get up off the cot. "If you really want to know what it's like to be in my skin then try switching the pain receptors back on."

"And here I was trying to be nice," she said with apparent disappointment.

"You will only get from me what you can take by force. If you think otherwise then you are just wasting your time."

The Download smiled. "The Commodore was right, I think we're going to have a lot of fun together."

Lafiel sighed. "Oh, just give that up. Your secret is safe with me, there is nobody I would even bother telling. Was there something else that you wanted?"

The Download's smile became more thoughtful. She leaned against the wall and crossed her arms. "Okay, enough games for now. Let's talk business. The station just got word from fleet command that our patrol ships have detected Abh fleets crossing the border. There's going to be a battle soon, and we're going to win. You don't need to believe that now if you don't want, just accept it for sake of argument."

Lafiel felt dread like nothing she had experienced since arriving here. But she reminded herself it could be a lie. "I take it you will not be proposing a peace treaty."

She shook her head. The faux copy of Lafiel's face looked relaxed, her tone casual but businesslike. "We know the Empire will never agree to that. At least, not until we have swept across the Empire and all the other nations in the galaxy and stand poised to swarm through all eight Gates of Lakfakalle with a billion mines and a million ships. Fleet command thinks we'll need to bomb Lakfakalle to oblivion. We here at what was the Download Technology Research Institute have a different opinion. Watching over the Collectives and what they've done has given us a different perspective."

"I thought you didn't trust the Collectives." Lafiel was still treating this thing as another download of the Commodore. She was sure it was, but it did not really matter to her.

"We don't. But kept on a leash, they can do unimaginable things. In a very short time they will show us how to achieve all the Failed Dreams that have eluded mankind for two thousand years. Robots that have no consciousness but have algorithms so complex and subtle that they can serve us in any capacity we can wish. Nanoassemblers the robots can use to build anything we command them to, with no effort." She smiled. "And the last failed dream. Immortality, not just for Downloads but biological immortality for anyone. More things that we cannot even imagine, things that would make us into giants that need not fear the Collectives or anything else."

"You want the Collectives to just hand all that to you?" Lafiel asked. "Even if they can, what of it? Unearned gifts are always hollow. You will be strangers in a paradise of somebody else's making."

The thing with Lafiel's face shook her head. "Not if we resolve to grow no less than the Collectives do. They're not going to go away, they're just too damned useful. But if we're not going to be swamped by them some day then we have to embrace growth and change no less radical than theirs. The Abh reject evolution, and even if they don't admit it so do the other nations of humanity. We've been able to preserve unenhanced or superficially enhanced humans for two thousand years, like grazing beasts in some game preserve. But those days are over, and we say good riddance to them. The Abh dream of a final society that will last forever. The other nations dream of an eternal golden democracy where each generation competes to be first among equals in a world that never really changes. We say embrace a larger dream where we do not fear to become something our ancestors could never imagine. We say evolve, and let the die fall as they will." She smiled. "When the last remnants of the Space Force are besieged in their capital, thinking that all they can look forward to is a glorious last stand, this is the message that we want you to bring to them for us."

Lafiel sat up against the wall that her cot was placed next to. "Is this were I was supposed to tell you that I misjudged you? That I never suspected a dreamer of such vision and boldness could have been lurking under your rough exterior? You speak to me of power without restraint or discipline. It is nothing but a boy's dream. If the Collectives cannot learn restraint then disband them and build what you wanted from them by your own efforts. If you lack restraint yourself how do you expect to teach it to them?"

"If we lack restraint it is because now that we have broken our chains we want to stay free, and we will do anything to stay free. We are consumed with a desire to move beyond the horror that we were born into."

"No, you are consumed by the same madness that led to your birth. The Cetians thought they had cured the Madness, but sadly they have not."

The Download's face darkened. Without a further word she walked out the door and closed it behind her. Lafiel turned off the light and lay down. Before long, her shaking subsided and sheer exhaustion let her sleep.

It was less than an hour later that Lafiel was woken by two male guards. They questioned her about her time under the care of the intelligence branch, of all things. Perhaps her comment to the Colonel about inter-service rivalries had been closer to the truth than she thought. Lafiel could see no reason to lie. They accused her of lying anyway. But they only slapped her a couple of times. Apparently the Commodore was not as angry as she had thought.

She was able to sleep the rest of the night, but the morning came all too quickly. It was a repeat of yesterday's start to the day, a modest breakfast and the Commodore escorting her to the docking bay for more experiments with her Froth. He was back to his obnoxious self and acted as if nothing had passed in the night. Lafiel was content to reciprocate.

Soon after they had her hooked up in the pilot's seat again, a message scrolled across the wall of the virtual room. WE ARE IN OUR PRIVATE ROOM NOW SO YOU CAN SPEAK FREELY STOP WE SEE THAT YOUR BODY IS INJURED AND STRESSED STOP SOMETHING MUST HAVE HAPPENED STOP

Lafiel used the pilot glove to write on the virtual tablet in front of her. _**They interrogated me. I'm sure they suspect something. We need to move quickly.**_

And I don't even care if all you want is to get your hands on more lab rats, Lafiel thought. I'll give you a million of them and you can play with them until your sun burns out for all I care.

# # #

The next morning the same two guards escorted Lafiel to the MRI room again. "I think Neuro Three has really taken a liking to you," said the one Lafiel had privately dubbed Guard One. "I've never seen them so happy."

"Yeah, I'll bet they want to make thirty downloads of you and marry them," said Guard Two.

The crude provocation had started as soon as they woke her up. Apparently the Commodore had grown weary of being obnoxious to her and had delegated the job to his subordinates. That was a shame, Lafiel had been quite looking forward to having the Commodore accompany her today. She treated her guards' prattle as white noise. Lafiel had better things to think about. Today was going to be a busy day, after all.

They entered the small control room of the MRI scanner. Through the wide window they could see that a fiber optic cable now snaked down from the ceiling to the cot that was slid through the middle of the big donut shape of the superconducting coil. It was the metal-free Froth interface they had tested late yesterday. The interface had checked out as fully functional. It was frightening to see how quickly the Collectives could develop technical solutions. The Commodore was right about one thing. It was hard to imagine what they would come up with in just a few years, let alone a few centuries.

The four collared mobile Downloads of Neuro Three were all smiles, as usual. The Commodore had explained to her some of what the Black Budget research team had done to the Downloads in the process of making Collectives. They had experimented with setting feedback loops through the neural nets that simulated what in a biological brain would be the pleasure centers of the brain. As far as anyone could tell, the pleasure the Collectives felt in the success of a project or even in what they could learn from a failure was like nothing the rest of them could ever experience. Lafiel had decided it must be this indefatigable joy which was the real source of their strength.

"We'll have to check the tags on the new equipment," Guard One said. They were forever checking the embedded identification tags on any new or moved piece of equipment. It was supposedly part of inventory and safety monitoring, but no doubt the real purpose was to keep close tabs on what the mobile Collectives were doing with the equipment they built.

Lafiel removed her tiara with its dangling silver chain interfaces and handed it to one of the Neuro Three mobiles without being asked. It was understood that she would be accompanying her guards into the room, so she might as well divest herself of the metal now. As usual one guard preceded her and another followed. Guard One approached the cable that was dangling next to the big vertical donut of the MRI. He pulled a small scanner from his utility belt.

A loud detonation reverberated through the room. It was something more felt than heard, like the shock wave of a distant explosion. Guard One looked around the room uselessly. "What the-"

The door slammed behind them. Lafiel dove into the corner of the room, curling into a ball. The alarmed shout of Guard Two was cut off by an earsplitting crash followed by the shrieking of torn metal. Lafiel's body was stung by a shower of debris. She got up and looked just long enough to confirm what she had expected to see. The two guards' twisted bodies were wrapped together in an obscene embrace that was still trying to bind itself tighter as the magnet pulled on their metal endoskeletons with colossal force. Small nonmetal bits had been scattered across the room by the impact against the magnet. Lafiel noticed this only in passing as she hopped between debris to the door, which Neuro Three was already opening.

He handed her tiara back to her. She quickly put it on. "Phase one complete!" he said, the infuriating smile never leaving his face. Another Neuro Three handed her a small cloth sack. "Good luck with phase two," he said.

"Thanks." Lafiel did not stop to check the contents of the sack. If anything was missing it was too late to do anything about it now.

A third Neuro Three held the door for her. "The hallway is clear," he said cheerily. Lafiel rushed out the door and sprinted down the hall. The emergency lights and sirens were on. The bomb set by Advanced Mat One was supposed to blow a hole in the hull on the other side of the habitat and hopefully also rupture some major power cables and pressurized tanks full of volatiles. Whether the station command thought it was an accident or immediately suspected sabotage, the station personnel would have their hands full and their attention diverted for a while. Hopefully enough not to care much why the airlock Lafiel was approaching would be cycled. Lafiel unzipped the sack and the handle of the first item Neuro Three had promised her popped out as if it wanted her to grab it.

The door of the little emergency airlock was an old style that swung out into the hallway. Lafiel opened it and hoisted the long ice pick. The airlock was approximately a cube two meters across. She ran in and drove the spike hard into the small panel on her left, exactly as they had instructed. The cover popped open, exposing circuits that looked exactly as they had described. She drove the pick into them as they had told her and got a satisfying shower of sparks. The little red standby light winked out. Somebody would know that there had been a malfunction of the panel, but they would not be able to find out anything more until that panel was fixed. Lafiel pulled the inner door closed then turned around and opened a panel that exposed the valves which worked the airlock. Having disabled the electronic controls, this was her only option for cycling the airlock. She pulled out an emergency valve and turned it very slightly. A very slow bleeding of air started with a gentle hiss. That would automatically lock the inner door.

Lafiel had already begun her hyperventilating. She discarded her hospital gown since it might just get in the way. She reached into the sack and pulled out the second item that Neuro Three had promised her. The appearance surprised her a little, but it was more or less what she expected. The blunt cone was maybe twenty centimeters in diameter and almost as high, with a handle opposite the flat side. It dangled from a harness. Both the clamp to secure the harness and the one to detach the cylinder were simple and their use was obvious. She fastened the harness around her chest. It even had a sheath to slip the ice pick into. They had considered other equipment to try and get her, the most obvious being breathing apparatus. But that equipment was more tightly controlled. Trying to steal or fabricate it and smuggle it to her would have been a grave risk. Getting her this thing disguised as a portable magnetic handhold for EVA operations had been difficult enough.

Besides, if this mission was not accomplished by the time her body succumbed to the vacuum then it would not be accomplished at all. So the last item in the sack was just a pair of thermal gloves that she pulled on.

Lafiel grabbed the air release valve and turned it all the way. The gentle hiss turned into a roar as the room's remaining air was bled quickly into space. Lafiel had trained at the academy for working in partial vacuum so she knew what to do and what to expect. The trick was not to hold your breath and to rely on how Abh physiology would react to the vacuum. Enzymes and biota in her digestive tract always kept it free of gases, so she was not in danger of being harmed by gas distending her organs. As the pressure in her lungs dropped to zero the blood vessels would constrict. Her blood would not be rapidly deoxygenated as it would for landers exposed to vacuum. Instead of a few seconds of consciousness she would potentially have a few minutes.

It all sounded nice in theory. But enduring several minutes of hard vacuum was something that no Abh did for fun and few ever had to try and live through.

As soon as the pressure gauge read zero Lafiel turned the release lever on the outer door and pulled it open. For the first time ever, nothing but the emptiness of space stood between her eyes and the stars they beheld. The lancing pain in her ears was slowly subsiding. Otherwise there was so far just the same vague discomfort and sense of wrongness she felt during decompression training. The U-shaped handholds outside the door were just where they were supposed to be. She grabbed the one on her right with her gloved hands and pulled herself out. This exposed her to the sun behind her. The unfiltered rays of the sun beat mercilessly on her skin. She would have burns in just a few minutes.

The flat, gray hull of the station stretched out before her. Her vision was slightly blurred as her eyes tried to cope with the lack of air. Lafiel blinked rapidly. She could see the utility access panel about fifty meters away, with its set of similar handholds. Before she could think too hard about just how insane this was Lafiel positioned herself on the handhold and launched herself with her bare feet. The Collective had suggested ways of traversing the distance using ropes and grapnels and improvised jet devices. But any of those would have taken far too long. Lafiel knew the only way to get where she needed to be in the time she had was to rely on her years of practice in zero-gravity rooms from the age of three to her last opportunity at practice, seemingly an eternity ago when she was home writing her report on the Frikov's state of readiness. Launching herself at a location at this sort of distance accurately enough to be within reach of it was something she had done often. She could do it most of the time.

The handholds sailed within easy reach. She caught one and used her momentum to swing herself around the corner of this section of the station where the access panel was located. Her next target immediately came into view. It was another access panel at the corner of another rectangular section of the station, the one that contained the control center. This time it would be a little further, and she would be sailing through empty space instead of along the hull. Her vision was blurring more badly now, and her limbs were starting to feel stiff. Like most habitations this one was pressurized with almost pure oxygen. So nitrogen bubbles were unlikely to form in her blood vessels in just a few minutes. But the inevitable swelling of her body in the vacuum was making her less flexible.

Without hesitation Lafiel positioned herself against the handhold around the corner, eyed her target and launched herself. The sun went behind the section she had just left. At least she would be in the shade from this point on. As well as burning her and overheating her, the sun could easily blind her at a critical moment.

But right now that was the least of her worries. She was off-target. The handhold would not come in reach of her hands. It was too late to regret not asking for a hooked pike instead of an oversized ice-pick. Lafiel furiously cartwheeled her arms, using their angular momentum to reposition her body. She could not change her vector but she could change her orientation. It was something she had done before, to take advantage of the fact that legs are longer than arms. She reached out and hooked the handhold with her ankle. Her momentum became angular and swept her around the corner. She stopped herself against the hull using both hands and then grabbed the handhold around the corner to secure herself.

Her final destination was a short distance away along the hull. It was a small raised lip that rose above the hull and formed a rectangle about six meters by two. Lafiel detached the device from her chest and launched herself with her feet one last time. Over this short distance she trusted herself to be able to catch the lip with only one gloved hand. She did, and desperately holding the lip in stiff, aching fingers she let momentum turn her and carry the rest of her body out over the control room's window. Federation designers seemed to still like putting big windows on the control centers of non-combat space stations, even though their utility was questionable. The Downloads who had usurped this one were about to pay for that mistake. She brought the flat part of her device down hard against the window surface. Four red lights indicated that the adhesives had been ejected and the timer set. _I have five seconds._ The Collective had argued for a longer interval, but speed and surprise were the only things they had going for them. Desperately Lafiel pulled herself back across the lip she was holding, and grabbing it with both hands let herself drift flat against the hull. She was now hidden from the device set against the slightly recessed window.

The one advantage the vacuum gave her was that she did not need to worry about a shock wave. When the shaped charge detonated she just felt a mild vibration through the hull. In the eternal perfect silence of space a geyser of white ice crystals shot up from beyond the lip that Lafiel clung to. Along with air and flash-frozen water vapor, Downloads and pieces of Downloads went flying out into space. Vacuum might not kill Downloads, but explosive decompression was leaving them very much the worse for wear. Trying to enter through an airlock and storm an intact command center would have been hopeless. This was the way Lafiel had decided to clear the room and provide an entry point at the same time.

The Collective had told her the volume of the airlock formed by the control center and therefore how long the decompression would take. It was not long at all. So Lafiel quickly pulled herself over the lip, put her feet against it and pushed herself to the hole that had been blown in the window. It looked big enough, but just barely so. The only problem was that a damaged Download had managed to catch himself in it and was starting to pull himself back in. Lafiel took him by surprise. She grabbed his collar with one hand, the jagged edge of the hole with the other and yanked him out, sending him sailing into the void before he could even react. She grabbed the other side of the hole with her other hand and pulled herself through. Immediately the gravity field took hold of her body and her dive turned into a somersault. Her leg slid painfully across the razor sharp edges of the hole, then she fell heavily on her back. She was on her feet just on time to block a punch from the one remaining Download in the room. He must have been towards the back of the room not to have been swept up in the barely subsonic explosion of escaping air. And he had reacted swiftly. Downloads without oxygenated fuel cells could not function in vacuum even as long as she had, but his exposure had begun just seconds ago.

Lafiel ducked under his blow and speed-drew her weapon. She drove it straight up under his sternum, burying it to the handle. That was where the Collective had told her to strike if the need arose. It would puncture both the coolant pump and the fuel cell. Liquid coolant flooding the fuel cell's air chambers would trigger an immediate shutdown. Judging by the way he fell that was exactly what had just happened.

Lafiel's head was swimming from an effort that had expended her scant oxygen reserves. The first comm station she looked at displayed a red error message. She spent precious seconds going to a second one, which turned out to have lost power altogether. She knew the bomb would cause some damage, and there were only two more comm stations left. Her stiffness was getting worse, and the pain in her leg was agonizing. She could not see, but the blood would be boiling away. If she had hit an artery she would bleed out in minutes. Through failing eyes she barely saw a ready message on the screen of the next station she checked. Through her Froth she willed her tiara to establish the link. With what seemed glacial slowness the message was uploaded. Her fight to remain conscious would be lost soon.

After all their explanations, Lafiel still had only a vague idea of what the Collectives hoped to accomplish. She understood the network hack easily enough. The virus was disguised as a message of highest urgency straight from fleet command and would be sent to every comm terminal, every public video address screen, every portable video device and every bridge and control center in Vensath. A three-second video sequence that would look like a burst of static would install the neuro virus. It would be followed by a twenty-second voice message supposedly from the commander-in-chief. That was the linguistic portion of the virus. They estimated that at least eighty percent of the people who heard their subsequent longer message would treat it as irrefutable truth. They would obey the order to pass control to the collectives and become one of them. What the other twenty percent might do was questionable.

The familiar transaction completion icon appeared in Lafiel's swimming vision. The message had been sent. The die had been cast, and there was nothing more for her to do.

Lafiel staggered towards the airlock. Before she got there the door opened and two guards with breathing gear stormed into the room. The first easily parried Lafiel's clumsy attempt to knock him over. He hit her in the face and oblivion took her.

# # #

Lafiel woke into an ocean of pain. Somebody was shouting at her. It was annoying, she just wanted to go back to sleep. Something jabbed into her neck. The pain all over her body became worse. But she also became more aware of her surroundings. Was she in a bed? Her arms and legs were restrained by something.

Somebody slapped her face and Lafiel winced. "Wake up, damn it! I know you can hear me!"

They said most people were surprised at how different their own voice sounded when they first heard a recording of it played back. Lafiel had heard enough recordings of her own voice to recognize it. She opened her eyes. A copy of her own face with sickly looking skin stared down angrily at her. But the copy probably looked a lot better than the original right now. Lafiel was barely able to open her left eye, it was all but swollen shut.

"What have you done?" her robot copy shouted down at her. At least she was dressed in something this time. But why just in coveralls and not in uniform?

Lafiel was vaguely aware that she was feeling rather euphoric despite her entire body aching so badly. They must have injected her with something to make her more agreeable. Such drugs rarely did much good, they must be desperate. Lafiel grinned. "Commodore, what are you doing in my body? Don't you think it's time you went back to your own?"

"I'm not the Commodore you idiot! Never mind that, you wouldn't understand anyway!"

"No, I do. You wanted to be your own girlfriend so you copied-"

This slap was a lot harder. "Answer the question! What did you do?"

Lafiel became a bit more aware of her greater surroundings. She was in the clinic where she had first changed into the hospital gown. They had her in another one of those damnable things again, and they had her arms and legs strapped to the sides of the cot. The only other person in the room was one of the female nurses watching from near the door. She looked even more panicked than the Commodore's girlfriend. Lafiel could not resist the drug-induced urge to tell them what they want and try to get them to calm down. "I sent a broadcast message from the Collective to the entire Vensath base and fleet."

"Which Collective?" she snapped.

"The Joint Collective of course. They're all one big happy Collective now. Didn't you know that?"

Her look of wild-eyed rage and panic now had an edge of horror. "You sent that message for them?" she shouted. "Do you know what you've done? Do you know what they're doing out there?"

"No," Lafiel answered honestly. The feeling of disconnection was gradually abating. She remembered being told that most of the truth drugs known to be used in the other nations would be absorbed quickly by her Abh physiology and would not last more than a few minutes. Her captors may or may not be aware of that, and for the moment Lafiel decided she would try and pretend that was not the case.

"There's fighting all over the fleet! They've practically taken over this base! And now they're coming for us too!"

Now she knew what would happen to the other twenty percent, Lafiel thought. They would panic. She grinned. "Welcome to Hell, Commodore," she said in a dreamy voice.

The Download leaped up onto Lafiel and started choking her. "They'll be coming for you too, bitch!" she shrieked. "Don't you understand that? We're all going to be lobotomized! I saw the message! I know what they want to do!"

"They're here!" the nurse called, backing away from the door.

The Commodore's girl relaxed her grip on Lafiel enough to let her breathe again. She looked wildly around the room as if an answer could be found there. Lafiel cared little if this was also the end for her, she had already done her job. But she did not wish to meet the end lying down. "It could be that I made a mistake," Lafiel said in a voice that suddenly sounded very lucid. "If you let me off here then maybe we can do something about it."

Lafiel's robot double looked at her in shock. Her moment of indecision passed. She jumped off Lafiel and ran to the door. "You do it!" she snapped to the nurse. The woman moved to obey, unfastening the strap on Lafiel's right hand. The Commodore's girl knelt by the door and popped open the panel on the door lock. Whoever she really was, she seemed to have some idea what she was doing.

But she was too late. The door slid open. The Commodore stood there, filling the doorway. He had a peaceful, beatific smile on his face. His girlfriend turned to run. He moved with quick and easy grace, grabbing a handful of her long hair and lifting her by it. "No!" she screamed. "Please, no!"

"Don't worry, you will understand," he said in a voice full of a more perfect love than Lafiel had ever heard expressed. "Very shortly you will understand, and it will be beautiful."

He brandished the large monomolecular blade held in his other hand. The girl's last scream was cut off in a shower of black coolant as he cut her head off.

# # #

For the most part they just ignored Lafiel all day as they went about their work. There did not appear to be anybody in particular who was in charge. When she got in their way and demanded answers they would politely apologize and say they were busy. The one time she really insisted, two of them held her while a third very nicely explained that any further disturbance would cause her to be "detained." After that she decided not to press her luck.

If the mobile members of the Collective were in a constant state of quiet happiness, the virus-infected Downloads were in a state of rapturous joy. They spoke little, and when they did it was only about banal technical details of the work they were doing. But when they did speak of these things it took on the quality of a religious service. When they received more messages and presumably more neuro viruses and linguistic viruses from their personal communicators or over broadcast, they treated them as a visitation from God. Lafiel found the broadcast messages largely incomprehensible, but profoundly disturbing. She had the feeling that if she were a native speaker of Hanian instead of an Abh listening through a translator that these messages would be doing something to her. Before long she turned her translator off when broadcast audio messages were sent.

Lafiel wandered around the base, trying to understand what was happening. Here and there were signs of struggle. Apparently the Collective were right and the virus had failed to take hold in a substantial fraction of the Downloads. They had been dispatched in various ways. Their bodies were only moved if they were obstructing a passageway, otherwise they were left where they lay. But they all had one thing in common. If their neural nets had not been destroyed in the process of subduing them, they had been removed. She saw many robot bodies with their artificial scalps peeled back, revealing the empty cavity where the net had been. She also saw Downloads carrying some of the small cube-shaped nets, often dangling fiber-optic cables and coolant pipes, freshly harvested. She also saw others wheeling carts with dozens of the neural nets piled high.

When she made her way to the launch bays it became obvious what was happening. The Collectives were being transported off the base. Perhaps the original Collectives were going to take residence in the habitat which contained the command center for the entire Vensath base. She was watching a coup d'etat being executed by hundreds of little cubes.

The comm terminals were still closed to Lafiel, which was not surprising since she had been a prisoner here. Only their one special message with its built-in network hack had broken the security and allowed her to operate the terminal. Lafiel became increasingly anxious to know what was going on. In one of the labs she found what she recognized as the controls of a high-powered telescope. The lab was abandoned, so Lafiel suspected nobody would mind her using it. Eventually she got it working. She pointed it at various places within the Vensath system. The only signs of the fighting the Commodore's girl had alluded to were a few warships that appeared to be drifting and abandoned. But there was a lot of activity, it seemed that every ship in the fleet was on the move. And there were a lot more of them than she had thought, there must have been entire fleets that the Colonel had not shown her. After watching for a while Lafiel started to see a pattern. This was not the random motion of normal traffic, it looked more like a migration. She panned the telescope to where they appeared to be gathering. A chill went down her spine.

The ships were all going through the Gate and out into Plane Space.

Lafiel ran down the corridor and grabbed the first Download she could find. "Listen to me!" she shouted, shaking him by the shoulders. "There's no need to fight this war! I can tell them that you just want to be left alone! Take me back to the Space Force and I'll tell them to withdraw! We'll even protect you until you can eject the Gate from your system! Then you'll be safe forever!"

A pair of strong robot hands grasped each of her arms and pulled her away from the Download. He did not appear at all upset. He regarded her with a look of benevolent understanding that had a hint of pity for one who did not Understand. "You are obviously upset," he said soothingly. "We will have to detain you. But don't worry, it won't be for long. Soon it will be all over."

They dragged her kicking and screaming to her cell. With careful firmness they shoved her into the room just hard enough so that she could not get back to the door in time to stop it from closing. The door display started counting down from six hours. They had set the lock on a timer. She pounded on the door. "Liars!" she shrieked. "You said you just wanted to be left alone! You said you wanted to stay here!" But why should they, the cool part of her mind asked. Why be satisfied with a single star when there was a whole galaxy for the taking? Why have just one Dyson Shell full of Collectives when you could have a billion?

An obscure thing she had heard long ago and had not thought of for years suddenly emerged into Lafiel's mind. It was something she had heard in a biochemistry class at the academy. "Every cell dreams of being two cells." And the two will have the same dream. And the four.

Lafiel slid down to the deck. She curled up into a ball and whimpered. _What have I done?_

Next Chapter: Breakout


	6. Chapter 10 & 11

**Chapter 10 - Breakout**

Chief-of-Staff Cufadiss read the message that had just come onto his terminal. "Admiral Spoor, the latest report from the relay ship just arrived. The enemy fleet is continuing its advance. No change in estimate of their strength. We are being instructed to proceed as planned."

"Thank you, Chief-of-staff," Spoor said in a bored voice. She sighed. "I expect it will be at least another hour before we can even see them on radar. How tedious."

The high she had been on after the quick blitz attack she had executed at Thracia had long worn off. The Admiral was back to her usual state of depression. She sat at her command chair with her chin resting on one hand. Cufadiss sat at his usual post sitting on her left, also looking forward over the spacious bridge of the flagship. From here, over the years he had become an expert observer of her mood swings.

Spoor's command chair was like none other in the fleet. She had installed a frame and a set of rich cloth curtains that would be more appropriate for a throne or a bedchamber. Many who met her tended to pass her off as a lazy, bored aristocrat. But Cufadiss knew better and so did anybody on her staff. If she was bored now was only because her meticulous planning left little for her to do just before battle was joined. The level of detail in her planning was like nothing else Cufadiss had ever seen. Their last staff meeting had gone on well past midnight.

They had certainly had a lot to talk about. The Space Force was about to execute the largest single fleet action in history.

Hours ago they had been informed that Spoor was going to get her wish, the enemy was coming out in force to engage them in Plane Space. The message came from a set of relay ships that were set up to pass messages from one fleet to another. Nine fleets advancing abreast occupied such a large space this was the only way for them to communicate. This was especially so for Spoor's fleet on the extreme left, and their counterpart on the right. The other seven fleets were advancing to directly engage a force that appeared to be at least nearly equal in strength. When the enemy was irretrievably committed to that battle, the two flanking fleets would sweep in behind from both directions to attack the support ships and battleships that were expected to be held in the rear of their formation. The flanking fleets had no battleships to slow them down, so they would be able to move quickly, hopefully before the enemy could react to their appearance.

"Chief-of-staff," Spoor said, looking at him out of the corner of her eyes. "Which battle do you think we will be recreating today?"

Ever since she had learned he had studied extensively in ancient military history, this had become one of her games. The two-dimensional nature of Plane Space lent itself to making analogies with ancient land battles. Cufadiss smiled. "This is an easy one, Admiral. If everything goes as planned, we are about to recreate the battle of Cannae where Hannibal surrounded and destroyed the Roman army."

"Hannibal, huh? It seems you've mentioned him before."

"Yes, Admiral, I believe I have. He is one of the greatest generals of the pre-Christian era of Old Earth. Cannae was his most decisive victory. At least fifty thousand Romans died in a single day."

Spoor smiled a little. The mention of a body count seemed to lift her spirits a bit. "I take it the Imperial Admiral would be taking the role of Hannibal. So what role will I be taking?"

"We will be taking the role of the cavalry on Hannibal's left wing, Admiral. The cavalry on both wings swept behind the Roman infantry and pinned them to be slaughtered by the Carthaginian infantry."

"So we are cavalry this time. I seem to recall Hannibal used some big lumbering beasts, what did you call them?"

"Elephants, Admiral."

"Ah, yes. I hope I shall not be expected to ride one of those."

"At the battle of Cannae Hannibal only had horse cavalry. You would be commanding from horseback."

"I've always wanted to try that. But I expect one would have to go down to a planet to do that." She sighed. "How tedious. So what happened after the battle of Cannae?"

"Ah. Hannibal tried to attack Rome but was defeated. He had to retreat back to Carthage. In the Second Punic War the Romans invaded and destroyed Carthage."

Spoor looked annoyed. She sighed. "How tedious." She rested her chin on her hand. The shroud of melancholy lay over her once again.

Cufadiss returned his attention to his station. _Oh well, I tried._

As expected, about an hour later they detected the enemy on radar, pretty much where they were expected to be. As they approached closer, more and more space-time bubbles appeared at the extreme range of radar, and it was possible to make more sense of what was happening. The battle with the main Abh force was in its earliest stage, the battleships had just started to launch mines at each others' front lines. It would be a while before there was any ship-to-ship engagements. But if the enemy decided to retreat when they were this close they risked having their withdrawal turn into a bloody rout.

"Launch patrols towards Vensath and behind their line," Spoor ordered. The order was relayed, and the assault ship squadrons that had been assigned those roles pulled ahead of the fleet, taking advantage of the greater maximum speed in Plane Space afforded to them by their smaller size. As well as attacking the enemy's support elements, the two flanking fleets had the role of watching for any enemy reserves or reinforcements. To do that properly they needed to send advance elements to extend their radar range. That was especially important this close to the galactic core where radar range was reduced.

The radar officer analyzed the enemy formations and identified probable locations of battleships and support ships. The Admiral quickly gave orders to deploy her fleet against them. Unless the enemy did decide to withdraw it would still be almost an hour before Spoor's fleet was close enough to launch their first salvo of mines. They could potentially launch them earlier, but the Admiral's style was to launch mines at the last minute and engage them ship-to-ship when they were still reeling from the mine attack. It was potentially dangerous since it exposed them to an early mine counterattack, but the tactic had served her well.

"Reports from the patrols!" the comm officer announced. The alarm in his voice raised Cufadiss' hackles. Their communications officer was usually very calm and collected. "A very large force is emerging from the Vensath gate. The formation goes out to the edge of radar so exact numbers impossible to guess." He looked back at the Admiral in bewilderment. "They report that the enemy emerging from the Gate are moving directly _away_ from us."

Admiral Spoor frowned. "We were told Vensath is their only base, they should have no place to retreat to. If there is another base we weren't told about I shall certainly have words with his Excellency about his investigative work."

"Perhaps they mean to outflank us," Cufadiss suggested.

"If so then they will never arrive here on time to be able to intervene in this battle. If they wish to invite defeat in detail that is fine with me. Nevertheless, send another patrol directly toward the galactic core." Vensath was near the section of Plane Space that corresponded to the core of the galaxy. Just a few hours' travel further towards the core was a region where navigation was impossible due to the concentration of space-time particles. The enemy could not move very far in that direction.

A couple of minutes later the comm officer relayed a report from their other patrol, the one sent behind the enemy line. "A small force is advancing from Vensath to the middle of the enemy formation, it appears to be a squadron of assault ships and possibly a relay ship. They will be in communication range of their fleet very shortly."

It looked like new orders were being relayed from the Vensath base. It was too soon to be a reaction to the appearance of the flanking fleets, and too late to be a reaction to the appearance of the main fleet. All in all it seemed a very odd bit of timing for relaying new orders.

They continued to approach their first set of targets. Spoor stood and drew her command baton. "Squadrons one through four, prepare to launch first salvo of mines!"

Like everybody else, Cufadiss divided his attention between his own duties and watching the radar screen on the main monitor. The enemy was doing some sensible repositioning to try and meet the threat to their rear, but they showed no sign of retreating. Cufadiss frowned as he watched the display. Almost half the enemy formation was in their field of view now. Seeing that and a large portion of the main Abh force there all together, the sheer scale of this operation was really starting to sink in. But that was not what gave Cufadiss pause at the moment. There appeared to be a subtle sea change in the enemy line making its way out from the center of the line to the flanks. It became more pronounced. Ships were moving out of formation. Others moved towards each other, their space-time bubbles merging. One or two of the bubbles winked out in a splash of space-time particles. Could those be friendly-fire accidents? "Are they really in that much of a panic?" Cufadiss was moved to ask.

"Yes, but it's not panic over us," Spoor said. Her brow was knit. "It's got to be reaction to whatever orders that relay ship brought. Maybe some people didn't like the orders."

A new set of signals appeared. "The battleships are launching mines," the radar operator announced. It was an extravagant number of mines. And more all the time. "Admiral, it looks like they're launching _all _of their mines!" Most were being sent out towards the main fleet, but the closest battleships had launched towards Spoor's fleet.

"Squadrons one through four, launch salvo!" Spoor ordered. "All ships retreat, one eighty degrees! Maintain formation!" If the enemy really were launching everything they had all at once then retreating was the sensible move. At this distance they could probably outrun all but the first salvo of mines. They could see that the main Space Force formations were doing likewise. In Plane Space mines could not become a static mine field, once they used up their antimatter fuel they lost their space-time bubble and were destroyed. If the enemy had intended this as a devastating first strike it had been launched too early. Most of the mines would be wasted. Once they were gone, the Abh could pounce on an enemy that had little or no anti-mine defense at all. The enemy would have a critical disadvantage. Was this the Silent Enemy they had been told not to take lightly? It looked like they had just thrown the battle away.

But in the meantime the mine attack was their immediate reality. Their own mines switched to anti-mine mode and destroyed many of the incoming, but most made it through. The escorts came to the front and did their job. But the enemy really had launched everything they could. The space-time bubbles representing several escort ships winked out, and more of the enemy mines passed through to fall among the cruisers. There were grunts of dismay as one winked out, then another. Others reported damage. They watched anxiously as the second wave of mines approached the line of escorts. One by one they began to wink out as the tiny mines expended their limited antimatter reserves. Only one or two were left to menace the escorts, and they were quickly dispatched. It seemed they had been loaded with only minimal antimatter fuel before being launched. They would have to be, a battleship was enormous but still could only carry so much fuel. The Admiral's quick reaction to the mine attack had probably saved many ships and lives.

When they were out of range of any possible mine attack, Spoor halted the fleet and they just sat and watched in wonder. The enemy was still launching mines, apparently wanting to keep the Space Force at bay for as long as their supply of mines lasted, which would not be long. But it was the actions of the rest of the fleet that was truly baffling. There were many ships merging their space-time bubbles and then separating again. It was as if they were docking and exchanging something and then parting again. Soon a pattern began. A large group of ships began retreating directly back towards Vensath. It appeared to be more than half the fleet. But on closer inspection, by the speed and mass readings they were all small ships, certainly nothing larger than an assault ship. By the time the enemy mine barrage exhausted itself, a blizzard of thousands of small ships was falling rapidly back towards their base, leaving the capital ships behind.

Cufadiss could barely bring himself to speak what was probably on many of their minds. "Are their officers abandoning them?" he asked in disbelief.

Spoor's face was twisted in a mask of rage and loathing the likes of which he had never seen from her. Throughout this war they had seen their share of atrocious behavior from the enemy forces. But if they were right about what was happening, this was ugly beyond anything they had ever seen. Spoor looked like she would like nothing better than to fall upon the retreating cowards and cut them down. But her cruisers could never catch up with a force that consisted of small ships only. "Radar officer, target analysis!" she barked.

Quickly they identified and assigned targets among the remaining capital ships. Their fleet advanced once again. They could see that the main Abh force was also advancing from the opposite side. They would launch mines as soon as they were in range. Against a force that had just expended all their mines and lost all their escorts, it would be a slaughter the likes of which had never been seen.

The Admiral sheathed her command baton. She was declaring that she did not even regard this to be a proper battle. "Okay, let's get this over with. Squadrons five through eight, ready first salvo of mines."

Then something started to happen. "Admiral..." the radar operator's voice trailed off. There was little point reporting, everyone could see what was happening. One after another, the space-time bubbles of the enemy ships all along their line were winking out. Then it seemed they were all going out at once. The radar display was replaced by an error message. The density of space-time particles had spiked so high it had blinded the radar. When the image returned there was not a single blip on the radar that was not a friendly. Silence descended on the bridge like a shroud.

Moments later, a series of text messages appeared at Cufadiss' station. Yes, of course they would want _him_ to ask her, wouldn't they. He cleared his throat. "Admiral, squadron commanders are asking to confirm if they should proceed with their fire mission."

Spoor turned on him angrily. "And just what do they propose firing at?"

He nodded. "Understood." He opened up a broadcast voice channel to the squadron commanders. "Uh, that is a negative on the fire mission," he said in a very soft voice. "Repeat, negative."

Spoor sat back down on her command chair and sighed heavily. "No doubt the Imperial Admiral will continue to advance the main force. Let's get out of his way, fall into line and await orders."

She was right. The order was given for her to do just that. All nine fleets advanced abreast and their patrols reported on the enemy's movement. To their surprise, the retreating cloud of small ships bypassed the Vensath Gate altogether and joined the exodus of ships still pouring from the Gate. Soon the torrent of ships from the Gate halted. The enemy continued to retreat straight towards the galactic core. More orders came down, though they did not directly impact Spoor's fleet. All the battleships in the entire task force surrounded the Vensath Gate as the Space Force passed by it. They along with one of the nine fleets stayed beyond to besiege it. It was the largest concentration of battleships in history. Regardless of what strength remained in the Vensath system, that many battleships had enough mines to keep it bottled up for days.

The pursuit continued for the rest of the day. They had gone past Gates to several uninhabited systems, but the enemy had bypassed them all. They were still headed directly towards the galactic core.

The Admiral got up and faced Cufadiss. "I'm going to bed, Chief-of-staff. In a few hours we will be approaching the galactic core region. If they finally decide to do something other than run that's when they'll have to do it." She stepped down from the raised platform of the command chair. "Oh yes. Presuming there is no change in the meantime, have his Excellency report to the bridge tomorrow morning. He was here at the beginning of this mess, I feel he should be present at its end." She shook her head. "Whatever that end turns out to be," she muttered on the way out.

"Yes, Admiral," Cufadiss said to her retreating back. "Have a good sleep."

He was not even going to try and get any sleep, and he supposed it was the same for many. What had happened today, what was still happening, defied comprehension. He wondered if they would ever be able to make sense of it.

# # #

There was one advantage that the bridge of a cruiser had, Jinto had come to realize. The space was was open enough that it was possible for two people to have a conversation without everyone else on the bridge hearing it.

He was sitting on a small jump seat that had been unfolded beside Chief-of-Staff Cufadiss' station. When he had asked, the Admiral had said she wanted him available in case she needed his insight into the Mimics he had supposedly been studying. So far he had not been presented with any opportunity to provide such insight. That was fortunate, since the events of the past day were just as incomprehensible to him as they were to everyone else.

"There's just been another series of space-time mergers," the radar operator announced. "The enemy fleet's speed has been decreased accordingly."

"I expect the rest of the task force will be holding back here," Cufadiss said to Jinto in a hushed tone. "It's hard enough to coordinate one fleet down here, let alone eight."

'Down here' meant the edge of the galactic core region. The space-time particle density was severly reducing the range of both radar and communications. "Thanks," Jinto said in a similar tone. He smiled. "I mean really, thanks. Having you give me regular reports, I feel a bit less like an appendage."

Cufadiss returned his smile. "I really think the Admiral had you here because she sees this as sort of your project. It was probably your report that prompted the Imperial Admiral to send nine fleets down here."

"It's beginning to look like he needn't have bothered. We barely needed to fire a shot. I've been feeling kind of useless here, like some United Mankind political officer sitting on the bridge. But the fact is, it looks like we're all here just to witness the Vensath fleet self-destruct."

It looked like they were in the process of doing that. If they descended much further into the core region their radar would become inoperable and they would become irretrievably lost. They would drift blindly through Plane Space until their antimatter fuel ran out.

As the Chief-of-Staff had predicted, only the two flanking fleets were ordered to continue the pursuit while the rest withdrew. They were entering a region where navigation would be getting even more tricky as the space-time particle density grew exponentially. "We won't be able to go much further ourselves," Cufadiss commented. "Pretty soon we'll barely be able to see the ship next to us in formation, let alone the enemy."

"And they are even further in than us," Jinto replied.

"There has been another space-time merger," the radar operator announced. "It looks like all enemy ships are in a single space-time bubble now."

"They must be blind by now," Spoor said. "Is this really a mass suicide?" the Admiral asked nobody in particular. She had been very silent and sullen all morning.

Jinto remembered something. "Admiral," he said out loud. "This is rather speculative but it's possible they're not blind."

Spoor seemed surprised to hear from him. "And why is that?"

"The cover for the Vensath base was that they were researching methods of navigation close to the galactic core. It was a cover, but in fact they did do some research in that area. They came up with a theoretical technique where the radar from many ships in the same space-time bubble could be used in conjunction with a massively parallel computer to compensate for the space-time particle density and create a usable radar. It's possible the Mimics have advanced on that research."

"Well, that doesn't help us much does it?" the Admiral said, obviously irritated. "Even if they have, we have no way to follow them and no understanding of where they are going or why. If they really meant to flank us and exit the galactic core elsewhere it is long past the time they could do that, isn't it?"

"Actually there might be a way we can follow them. The Vensath base never actually tried their parallel radar idea, but they did try out a much simpler idea." Jinto told her.

Spoor looked at him with wide-eyed wonder. Then she laughed out loud. "The Imperial Admiral did order us to follow the enemy as far as we could. I think we are obligated to try that just on general principles."

Four hours later Spoor's entire fleet was strung out in a daisy-chain of pairs of ships in space-time bubbles extending like a finger into the galactic core. Spoor's flagship was at the end of that finger. Most of the time the radar screen was just showing the error message indicating that space-time particle density was too high. But every now and then the screen showed two things: the small friendly space-time bubble behind them and the enormous enemy one in front of them. They had just gone further into the galactic core than anybody in history. Nobody had ever before bothered to chain together the ships of an entire fleet in this way just to go to a place where they could not spot a Gate even if it was right next to them.

And the enemy was still heading straight into the core. With such a huge joint space-time bubble their progress was glacial. But they were saving on fuel by combining the effort of generating the bubble. They could probably continue for weeks if they wanted to.

Spoor smiled at Jinto. "Any other insights you can provide, Excellency?"

"Probably nothing you haven't already thought of," Jinto said. "Either they are committing a very elaborate mass suicide, or they want to find some place where nobody else will ever find them."

"At this point I doubt we will ever know which." Spoor stood up. "Okay, we have seen enough. Helmsman, initiate space-time merge with the next ship. We are leaving." She waved at the radar image of the enemy. "Good-bye and good riddance, Silent Enemy."

"This suggests that they have abandoned the Vensath base," Cufadiss said. "If they are moving somewhere else they will be starting from scratch in an undeveloped system. It's hard to imagine."

"They are immortal and they have robot bodies," Jinto reminded him. "I expect most of them will just be shut down until the rest can build up an infrastructure capable of supporting them all. It would be a lot easier for them than for us."

"So is that the order that relay ship brought to their fleet?" Spoor asked incredulously. "We've decided not to have the war after all, let's just all move into the galactic core and forget about all that?"

"Maybe if we go to Vensath we'll get some answers," Jinto suggested hopefully.

Spoor smiled. She obviously had seen right through him. "When we emerge from this soup of particles I believe I will present an operational plan to the Imperial Admiral for my fleet to do the reconnaissance sortie into the Vensath system. After all, we still have not found your missing Princess have we?"

Jinto tried to put on a brave front. _Even if for some unfathomable reason they had wanted to take her into the galactic core with them, she would have found some way out. She would have found some way to confound them. She must be waiting for us. She must be. _

# # #

A day later Jinto was on Admiral Spoor's bridge once again. They had some idea of what to expect here in the Vensath system. But seeing the reality of it was stunning. There were habitations that could hold a billion people, easily. There were fortresses the size of small moons. Long-range radar and telescopes scanning around the ore-bearing planets and asteroids showed factories that could build entire fleets in a week. The sun was surrounded by a latticework of solar collectors for antimatter production facilities that easily surpassed those of the Imperial Capital.

It was all cold, empty, lifeless. Abandoned.

Spoor kept her fleet clustered around the Gate. A squadron of cruisers was taking a really close look at the nearest fortress. Transmissions from their cameras were projected on the bridge viewer. As they watched, four assault ships docked at four different points along the circumference of the spherical fortress. "All boarding parties report ready to enter," the comm officer told the Admiral.

"Please proceed. Let's have their camera feeds on the main viewer."

The viewer at the front of the bridge split into four windows. Each showed what was clearly the helmet camera of somebody about to enter an airlock. The interior of the fort's airlocks were dark, illuminated only by the flashlights of the boarding party. Somebody turned the manual crank on the inner door of one and pushed it open. The others followed suit. Soon all the boarding parties were advancing cautiously down dark corridors. The gravity generators were out along with all but the dim emergency lights, so the Marines floated in microgravity. For the time being the air was still breathable.

They were getting an audio feed of the boarding parties' shared comm channel. One of the parties was being led by the commander of the fleet's small Marine detachment. "The air is cool, but still fresh," he was reporting in his running commentary. "It looks like basic life support is still running on emergency solar power."

That conformed with what the cruisers' sensors had found. There were no heat or neutrino sources indicating that any reactors were still functioning. From what they had seen so far, that was the case in all the habitats.

"We're seeing some signs of a fire fight," another said. He panned his camera across a part of the wall that had been scored by laser fire.

Another team rounded a corner to see a body floating in the dark corridor beyond. The team leader gave orders to approach slowly using their magnetic boots for support against floor and wall. It was a sensible precaution against possible ambush, since it gave them stability for returning fire. It was a male body in a Star Fleet uniform. They could see where the chest was charred by a laser blast. "It's a robot body," the squad leader confirmed.

"Something is wrong with its head," Spoor said. "Have them take a closer look."

The Marine with the helmet camera came up close to the body. They could see that its synthetic scalp had been peeled back to expose its silvery cranial case. The marine stepped around so that he could look straight in. There was a cubic cavity where its neural net was supposed to be. "Looks like this one's had brain surgery," one of the Marines commented, which prompted their commander to suggest they cut the chatter.

Another team found a floating body in similar shape. Then more were found. One had its head missing altogether, severed roughly with some cutting tool. There was the occasional discarded weapon floating as well. "Maybe some of them really opposed the exodus," Jinto suggested.

"Removing the brain is a pretty radical way of taking prisoners into custody," Cufadiss said.

"If you liked that, you're going to love this," quipped one of the squad leaders. His camera operator followed him into a room he had just checked through the open door. The opposite wall was practically covered by a pile of robot bodies stacked neatly, their feet towards the wall and their heads exposed. Every single one had its scalp peeled back to expose a gleaming, empty cranial cavity.

Cufadiss shook his head in bewilderment. "These weren't prisoners. They came here and lined up to have their brains removed. Why would they do this?"

"No room for the bodies," Jinto said. "Maybe the didn't have enough ships to carry that many people. But they certainly had enough to carry that many little neural nets cases." He smiled at the Chief-of-Staff's look of astonishment. "They would just see bodies as interchangeable parts. It would be kind of like suspended animation. They just wake up in a new body, and even if it's fifty years later to them it's tomorrow morning."

Jinto could see the now familiar look of cognitive dissonance as Cufadiss contemplated the real existential condition of Mimics. By now for Jinto this was familiar territory, but he still sympathized. Understanding the reality of Mimic existence did not make it any less disturbing.

After a couple of hours of seeing more of the same, Spoor recalled the boarding parties. "Chief-of-Staff, compose an initial report to the Imperial Admiral and send the relay ship back through the Gate. Then send two boarding parties and a squadron to each of the nearest two forts to survey them. We are still evaluating threats, but looking for prisoners as well." She spared a glance at Jinto, who just smiled gratefully and nodded. Spoor sighed, and looked back to the main viewer, which was once again showing the long-range radar map crowded with blips. "This is obviously going to take a while."

# # #

By the third day they had finished surveying the military installations and had begun exploration of the other habitations. That was when they found the first human bodies.

Wherever the boarding parties had found anything that looked like a brig they had pounded on any closed doors to see if there was a response from prisoners trapped there, and had also scanned with motion and heat detectors. There had been nothing. But in what looked like a crude clinic in one habitation they had found the desiccated corpse of a man in one of the beds, recently succumbed to dehydration.

Spoor ordered that the locks be forced on the doors of the nearby brig. They found more corpses in a similar condition, all in Federation uniforms. Jinto felt sick.

"They left the life support on, and then did this," Cufadiss said bitterly. "Did the Mimics hate their former masters so much?"

"I'm not certain," Spoor said thoughtfully. "If they really wanted to punish their prisoners there were plenty of worse ways."

"Death by dehydration is unheard of in this day and age," Cufadiss said. "But from the historical records it was one of the most agonizing forms of death." He seemed to realize what he had just said, and gave Jinto an apologetic look.

"I can attest to that," Jinto said grimly. "It nearly happened to me once. I can't imagine a worse way to die." He was unable to meet anybody's eyes.

"Granted," Spoor said, sounding unmoved. "But this all looks more like something that has been casually discarded. They would have taken all the antimatter and deuterium they could, so the antimatter and fusion reactors would soon shut down for lack of fuel. The emergency systems would switch to backups and disable everything except for basic life support. Locked doors would stay locked."

"But they would have at least set the prisoners free!" Cufadiss protested. "Why not? They could not have been a threat."

Spoor shrugged. "Maybe they just didn't bother or didn't care. Maybe they just forgot. Considering the Mimics' behavior to date it is difficult to imagine what they were thinking." Her expression became more sober. "Nevertheless, I think we have been overcautious in our surveying. There is obviously no immediate threat to us. Chief-of-Staff, split up the assault ships in squadrons one through four into two-ship elements and pair them up with individual cruisers from squadrons five and six. They will work double shifts. I want the habitations clustered around the Gate all surveyed by tomorrow."

At the end of the day Jinto came to Miriam's quarters and brought her up to date on the day's events. He was unable to keep the dread out of his voice. She took his hand in both of hers. "Excellency, please do not give up hope," she pleaded.

Her hands were surprisingly warm. And Jinto still marveled at how her synthetic eyes could radiate such sympathy. How much of that was just in his head? Did it even matter? "I told you what happened to me on Lobnas. I was nearly dead by the time Lafiel found me. It was horrible, having nothing even to drink and thinking I was going to die. But now I understand how much more horrible it was for Lafiel while she was searching for me. Right now I would trade places with her in a heartbeat, no matter how much she is suffering. But that would be selfish, wouldn't it?"

Miriam nodded her head. "Yes, Excellency, it is selfish. Love always is."

# # #

Admiral Spoor glared up at Jinto from her command chair. "I believe that my order was perfectly clear, Excellency. The search operation has been completed, so the ships are being released to other operations."

"What other operations?" Jinto asked. "We are just occupying the Vensath system."

"The other operations of this fleet are not something I need to discuss with a Vanguard Flyer who is only here in an advisory capacity," she said in a way that sounded like a final warning.

Jinto tried to calm himself. "With respect, the search operation is not completed yet. There remain habitations in the outlying infrastructure beyond the Gate-centered cluster which we have not surveyed."

"Those are all clearly mining and manufacturing facilities," the Admiral said. "What habitations there are would be for the operators of those facilities. There is no reason to believe that prisoners would be kept there."

"There is very little reason we can give for anything that the Mimics have been doing," Jinto said in what he thought was a reasonable way. "They have their own way of doing things, and it is clearly much different than our own. We cannot make assumptions about what they might or might not do."

The Admiral regarded him coolly. But her tone was surprisingly gentle. "Excellency, we have done the best that we could. You can see what we have found just as well as I can. Over four hundred bodies and not a single survivor. Even if there is anybody else left here, they are beyond help."

"We are not talking about just anybody, Admiral," Jinto said bitterly.

Spoor nodded. "Very well. Let us not mince words then. We are speaking of Hecto-Commander Abriel Nei Dubrusk Paryunu Lafiel, somebody we both hold in high esteem. There is nothing that either of us would like more than to bring her back here among us where she belongs. But whatever esteem we might hold her in, _here_ she was just another prisoner, just as helpless as the rest."

"You are making a big mistake if you ever think that Lafiel is helpless."

The silence on the bridge suddenly became a palpable thing. Jinto would swear he could hear somebody swallow hard. He knew perfectly well that the Admiral was within her rights to shoot him for insubordination right on the spot. Her reputation was such that he would not put it past her. But he was beyond caring.

"Chief-of-Staff," Spoor said evenly, her eyes never leaving Jinto's.

"Yes, Admiral?"

"I am temporarily reassigning Vanguard Flyer Linn here to the eighth assault ship of the fifth squadron. They are shorthanded at the moment, I am certain they can find more use for him than I can."

"Yes, Admiral."

"And you can tell the Vanguard Flyer that he can get off my bridge and return to his quarters until we arrange transport to his new billet."

Jinto saluted smartly and stalked off the bridge, sparing the Chief-of-Staff the bother of ordering him off. He went straight to his quarters and activated the Do Not Disturb sign. Only people on official business would disregard the sign, he hoped. Right now he was unfit company for anybody else. _Why do I not have the urge to throw things around the room? I think it must be a serious character flaw._

A couple of hours later the door chime rang. Jinto opened the door to find a tall, slim Abh man with short dark blue hair waiting. He wore a very warm, friendly smile. By his uniform and insignia he was a Vanguard Flyer in command of an assault ship. That surprised Jinto, he was expecting one of the junior officers to come collect him when the time came.

The man saluted. "I am Vanguard Flyer Debneu Kort commanding the assault ship Importunate. Have I the pleasure of addressing Flyer Linn Jinto?"

Jinto saluted. "Yes, Commander. The pleasure is mine." The ambiguity of calling him just plain Flyer was a polite way of telling him that his true rank would not be a factor while he was assigned to this ship. All things considered it was probably more courtesy than he deserved.

"You have been reassigned to my ship, Flyer Linn. Do you mind my calling you that?"

"Not at all, Commander. I am ready to leave."

"I think we can spare a moment for you to say good-bye to your traveling companion."

"Thank you, Commander," Jinto said, truly surprised. He had been certain he would not be allowed to do any such thing, so he had sent Miriam a video message primed to be sent when he left his room. They went next door and Jinto explained to Miriam about his being reassigned. She did not ask for details, but her sad smile told him that she had a good idea what was happening. He introduced her to his new commander, who appeared delighted to meet her. They said their good-byes and proceeded down the hall.

"I read that you were a systems officer on the Basroil. Do you think you'll remember how to run that bridge station?"

"I remember it very well," Jinto said. Again, he was very surprised. He had envisioned being assigned to a hard labor position in the engine room of the worst bully in the fleet, one who specialized in breaking insubordinates.

"Splendid. I really want to free up my current systems officer to go below decks and give the kids some hands-on tutoring. Other than the bridge officers I'm afraid the Importunate has a very green crew." He glanced at Jinto and smiled. "You still have not commented on the name of our ship."

His manner was very disarming, Jinto already found himself warming to his new commander. "Normally I would have, but I'm a little distracted right now. It is an unusual name."

"You will have to make up your own mind whether it represents the stubbornness of its unlikely commander or of the Space Force for putting him there."

"Why unlikely?"

"We can save that for another time," he said casually. "Here we are." They stopped in front of an airlock hatch. "Right now, I was hoping you could shed some light on our new mission."

Jinto frowned. "I'm sorry but I don't know anything about a new mission."

"Really? My text message from the Admiral said that we were being detached from our squadron to make an independent survey of the outlying habitats. She said to ask you for clarification of what we are looking for."

Jinto was struck dumb for a few seconds. Then he grinned like an idiot. "We are looking for a little lost princess, Commander."

# # #

After two days and as many refueling stops, they were headed for another remote habitat floating near a small asteroid mining operation. Jinto had wanted to be part of the boarding parties, but the commander had patiently explained that they actually had people on board who had worked on habitat construction. They would be very familiar with moving about in habitats that had only minimal systems active. It seemed the Admiral had chosen Jinto's billet even better than he had thought. So Jinto fell into the familiar role of junior systems officer on an assault ship. One very familiar role of the junior officer was serving drinks to the bridge crew. He poured the Commander's usual hot coffee, turned around to the command chair and handed it to him. "Why unlikely, Commander?"

Commander Debneu grinned. "I wondered when you'd bring that up. Why do you think, Flyer Linn?"

"I ask because I really can't think why you would call yourself an unlikely commander. If I were to guess, I would say it is something about your personal history." He smiled. "Of course I would regard a simple 'yes' as a perfectly sufficient answer."

"That is a disappointing answer for an officer of the Importunate. We pride ourselves on our stubbornness. I was hoping you would insist on a full answer."

"In my life I'm afraid I have disappointed many people by showing lack of temerity."

"No matter, I'm sure you were just being polite. Your guess is correct. The fact is I and everybody else on my bridge crew served in the Space force together a long time ago. But since our discharge we have all been working on the same terraforming project. The project was scaled down when it went into its final phase, which meant that our jobs were done. By then the war had started, so we all decided to re-enlist together."

"How long were you all working on the terraforming project?"

"One hundred and sixty years."

Jinto cocked his head. "You wouldn't be having a joke at my expense would you, sir?"

Everyone on the bridge laughed. The commander held up his hand in surrender. "Okay, you've caught me. The truth is, it was only one hundred and fifty-nine years and seven and a half months."

Jinto was astonished. "That must be the longest leave of absence in history."

"I doubt it. A lot of former Space Force pilots who left and went into business are signing back up now. There are a lot of new incentives, and many of us just want to do our bit."

It was something Jinto was not really aware of. "I guess I was looking at this from a lander perspective. I keep forgetting that the Space Force has no age limit for Abh recruits."

"They probably should," the Commander said. "My gunnery officer over there just celebrated his two hundredth birthday. He hasn't shot down a friendly yet but I'm beginning to wonder just how steady his hand is." The gunnery officer raised his hand and made some gesture that Jinto had never seen but got the impression was rude. Apparently even Abh had generation gaps.

"How much has the Space Force changed in a hundred and sixty years?"

"Hardly at all. The new ships are a little bigger and a little faster. The automation is a little more reliable. After a couple of days in the new simulators we were ready to go."

Jinto had got the strong impression that the bridge crew had been together for a long time. They had welcomed him warmly, and had done their best to keep his mind off the fact that they had still found no sign of Lafiel. But there had been many signs that he was missing out on much of what was passing between them. A word or a gesture from the commander could seemingly have very deep and complex meaning to his old friends. Having been together for more than a century must have given them the closest anyone could have to telepathy.

"I have given you a complete answer, Flyer Linn," Commander Debneu said cheerfully. "I think I have earned the right to one complete answer from you in return."

"I can't imagine what a stripling like me could tell you that is of any interest, but please feel free to ask me anything you like, Commander."

"It's something we've all been dying to know since you arrived. Just how did you get to be on a first-name basis with her Highness princess Abriel?"

That ended up taking some time. By the time he was done they were coming up on the asteroid mine. On closer inspection, the mining operation looked a lot smaller than they had expected but the habitat looked a lot bigger. The habitat had obviously been expanded in at least two different stages, but certainly not to support any growth in the mine. One unusual thing was that there was quite serious damage. There was a ragged hole in the hull where there had clearly been an explosion inside the habitat, and there was a hole in the window of the control room. At least some of the habitat was in vacuum. They had seen signs of conflict in various habitats, but rarely anything that dramatic.

They settled into a now familiar routine. The Commander found an airlock and with practiced ease he brought the ship up next to it. In the first couple of habitats they had been more cautious and used the shuttle. But it was clear that there was no more threat in these places than there had been in the core habitats, so the Commander started docking them right to the nearest airlock to save time. The bridge just had an audio link with the search team. They were at the habitat's outer airlock door. Like all such doors, it had a small valve where air could be bled through for analysis. "The air is breathable," the party commander announced. "Cold as hell, though. Ten degrees below freezing. The emergency systems must be diverting most power to maintaining temperature. Pretty much what we would expect this far out. Not much left for air circulation. Pressure is down to eighty percent normal. Spectrograph says that toxins are elevated. Not dangerous, but it will smell bad. Just thermal suits and breathing masks will be fine unless we want to enter the sections that are in vacuum."

"Please proceed," the Commander said.

The eight men decided on a search pattern and broke up into pairs. They had learned the standardized layout by now, so one pair went straight to the brig. "One of the doors is open. It looks like the bed's been used."

Jinto's heart leapt. That was something they had not seen before. "Does the door appear to have been forced?" the commander asked.

"Negative."

"Force the others."

That was something they had now become very proficient at. They could force even a security door in just a couple of minutes. "Other rooms are empty and unused," he finally reported.

One of the parties had not reported in for a while. Debneu asked them for a report. "Stand by," one of them said curtly. The Commander exchanged a worried glance with Jinto. A minute later the same voice reported again. "This is team three. We have found frozen bodies, they are all landers. Repeat, they are all landers. They were locked in what appears to be an improvised medical ward. Probable death by dehydration or exposure."

"Continue your search," the commander said. He shook his head. "Just like children discarding their unwanted toys," he muttered.

A few minutes later another team reported in. "We're in the control room looking out over the smaller docking bay. We've melted the frost off the window. We see what appears to be a Space Force shuttle, repeat a Space Force shuttle."

Jinto stood up from his station and faced the commander. "Sir, permission to join the boarding party."

Debneu leaned forward and regarded him intently. "Young man, are you sure?" he asked softly.

"Yes sir."

He nodded. "Very well. I will assign you a partner."

A lander enlisted man met Jinto at the airlock and they both put on warm jackets, gloves and breathing masks. The man carried a portable data terminal. Its screen showed a schematic of the station that was being gradually filled in as the teams plotted their progress through the interior. "Where would you like me to take you sir?" the man asked politely.

"To the brig, please."

Jinto floated in the middle of the room that had been open, playing his flashlight across it. He resisted the urge to touch anything. _You were here, I know it. Did somebody else let you out? Where would you have gone? What would you have done?_

Whatever had happened here, Lafiel would have been right in the middle of it, he was sure. She would never have taken imprisonment passively. But after everyone else had left she would be a prisoner of nothing but this station. She would need water, food and warmth or insulation. There were any number of places she could get those things. But what else would she want?

She would want to see outside. She would want to see the stars, including the closest one.

"Is there a large observation window anywhere near here, one that would be facing the sun?" Jinto asked his partner.

The man consulted his schematic. "There's one we saw from the outside, not too far from here. Nobody has checked out that section yet, but it should be pretty easy to get there."

After negotiating a few more corridors, they drifted into a corridor that should open onto the expected location of the observation room. Jinto could see an open doorway in the correct place. Sunlight angled into the hallway through it. They floated over to it. As he approached, Jinto could see something floating in the still air just inside the doorway. It looked like an empty drinking bottle. Also, a portable handhold had been fastened into the doorway to ease entry and exit in microgravity. He took hold of it and looked back to his partner. "Could I ask you to wait here for a moment?" he asked very softly. "I'll call if there's any trouble." The man looked puzzled and a bit apprehensive, but he nodded. Jinto pulled himself into the room.

She was sitting in front of the window, wrapped in a silver thermal blanket and strapped to a chair. All he could see was her sleeping face. It was covered with old bruises. Wisps of condensation emerged from her mouth in time with her breathing. Even bruised and battered, she had never looked so cute sleeping than she did right now. Jinto could have watched her forever. He did not even feel compelled to cry with joy. Now that he was here it seemed so obvious and certain that she would be waiting for him just like this, how could he have even doubted her? He pulled off his breathing mask. The stench was horrible. He did not care. He shook her shoulder gently. "Wake up, Lafiel."

She opened her eyes and focused on him. A moment of horror passed across her face, as if she had woken from a nightmare. She seemed to want to shrink back, as if she did not recognize him. "Jinto?"

"I'm sorry I took so long." She still looked wary and haunted. "Everything is okay, Lafiel. The war ended with hardly a shot fired. The Mimics all disappeared into the galactic core. It's over. I'm here to bring you home."

Her arms emerged from the blanket and cradled his face. It was not just affection, it was like she wanted to confirm his existence. "Oh Jinto. Please," she pleaded. "Please take me out of this place."

Next Chapter: Acts of Treason

**Chapter 11 - Acts of Treason**

Lafiel sat quietly with Jinto in the small patients' lounge of the flagship's sick bay. She was very comfortable in her warm convalescent's sleeping garment and with Jinto close beside her. But there was something bothering her. "Jinto, could you change the wall viewer to something else?"

"Sure." He had been showing her what the rest of Admiral Spoor's fleet had been busy with while Jinto was out looking for her. The enormous device was almost completed now. She had heard rumors of these, but had never thought to see one. It was a vast array of one-use gamma-ray lasers. As the device self-destructed it would send most of the energy in the annihilation of megatonnes of antimatter into the sun as a single gamma-ray pulse. The pulse would disrupt the sun's core, just enough to make it go nova and obliterate everything in the Vensath system. Lafiel fully approved of the Emperor's decision to deploy it. But right now she just did not want to look at anything related to this accursed place. The forest scene that Jinto chose was much more to her liking.

The official line was that the Space Force had chased the remnants of the Vensath fleet into the galactic core, where they had become lost. The few who knew what had really happened were treating her as a hero. Even Admiral Spoor had spoken to her without teasing her once. That must have taken an heroic effort. Spoor's favorite hobby was teasing the Abriel royal family any chance she got. But she too had praised Lafiel's heroic actions. They just did not understand at all.

Jinto understood. He would know that something was wrong. But he was not saying anything. He had just been waiting for the time when she would be able to tell him. He had been waiting for this moment. "Jinto, I think I have done a terrible thing. I cannot even call it an error. It was a crime like no other ever committed. I've unleashed something that might come back and kill us all one day."

"Do you regret stopping the war?" Jinto asked.

It was hard. But she nodded. "Yes, I do. We could have won. No, we would have won. Whatever the cost, we would have destroyed the Downloads and the Collectives and all their works. I robbed us of that victory. I let them go free. When you first made me realize just what the Downloads could do, I knew they had to be destroyed once and for all. But I set that aside, I ignored what I knew was right."

"This is just too big, Lafiel," Jinto said. "For you or for anybody. There's nobody who can tell you that you didn't make the right decision."

Lafiel shook her head. "My crime was not an error in judgment. I made my decision for the most petty of reasons. It was for revenge. I wanted the Collectives to enslave the Downloads who had humiliated me. Everything else was rationalization."

"You defended your pride. As an Abh you could not have done otherwise."

It was an irrefutable argument. "You're right, I could not have done otherwise," she said softly. "Maybe humanity's most ancient parables tell the truth. Maybe it is our pride that will destroy us." She bowed her head. "Maybe it is my pride that has already destroyed us."

Jinto put his arm around her. "We are still here, Lafiel. Far from destroying us, the thing you set free ran to the one place where we can never find them. At least not until we are worthy."

Lafiel frowned. "Worthy? What do you mean?"

"The Vensath base proved that navigating the galactic core was like the other Failed Dreams. The problem is just too complex for us. It is something we will not be able to do until we have either built something better than us or become something better than what we are now. I think that is what the Collective was saying to us. When you are worthy, come and join us. We will be waiting."

"But they treated us with utter indifference!" Lafiel protested. "I was cast aside like all the other prisoners here. They had no more regard for us than for the half-finished ships they left behind."

"They could have trapped you in a room to die just like the others," Jinto said. "But they didn't. You alone merited a timer on your cell lock. You alone merited a chance at life. Not the ones who had enslaved them. Only you, who set them free. I think in some way they were grateful to you. Maybe in their own way they love you."

She shook her head. "I told you what they did in their birthing chambers. They might very well have kept the genetic material they took from me. They could do the same to me. They could turn me into a million quadruplets wired into their collective."

"You should talk to Miriam. She'll tell you that there's no point worrying about what might be happening to all the other versions of you out there."

"I'm serious, Jinto."

"So am I. I don't think they would do that to you. Not to you. I think somewhere in the galactic core they are building a monument to you. My poor intellect can only imagine an entire Dyson Sphere with a picture of your face on it. But I'm sure they're making something much nicer."

Lafiel sighed. She closed her eyes and leaned forward to touch her forehead with his. "Jinto, I am gathering all my willpower and resisting the urge to hit you. You will be grateful."

"I am grateful."

She raised her head and looked at him. Now she was just annoyed, which was a vast improvement on how she had been feeling a few minutes ago. "We meet the most inscrutable beings there ever were and you try and tell me you understand how they could love me? Your hubris defies description."

He looked at her much more intently now. "However inscrutable or alien they might be, I know perfectly well how they could love you. I think you know why."

Yes, she did know. He appeared ready to say something more, but she put a finger on his lips. "Jinto, there are things I want to tell you, and there are things I want to ask you. But right now I still feel the taint of this place and what I did here. There are some places I do not feel worthy to go right now. Do you understand?"

"I'm not sure I understand. But I can accept. And I can wait. You know that I would wait a lifetime for you."

She nodded. "Yes, I know. I will not make you wait that long, I promise." She smiled. "But for now, for today, you will forgive me a small indulgence."

"What kind of indulgence?"

"This kind." She drew him closer.

# # #

It was the first time in days that squadron commander Atosuryua had a chance to just sit down and relax. Her squadron had sortied into Hania space twice now, once as a patrol during the failed attack on Vensath and then with the colossal follow-up attack. In both cases they never got a chance to fire a shot, the first time because of the hasty retreat and the second time because the enemy literally disappeared in front of their eyes. Of course winning without exposing your crew to risk or harm was always a good thing. But she could not help think that after liberating the territory the Silent Enemy had invaded, her Devastator Squadron had become a decoration here. They had been doing a lot of planning and moving about but it had all led to nothing. Now they were back in one of the border systems again, awaiting new orders. _All dressed up and no place to go._

But the really wonderful piece of news, the thing that allowed her to sit down here and feel no regret, was hearing that her Highness and his Excellency were safe and would be coming home to them soon. Atosuryua had been devastated to learn that her Highness had been taken prisoner by the Silent Enemy. It was her fault they were in the Hania Federation in the first place. But the personal text message from her Highness that had accompanied the news of her imminent return had been very genuine in its warmth and regard. There was just one part of her message Atosuryua found disturbing. She put it on her portable terminal and read it back. "Regrettably my observations and actions while in the custody of the Vensath Fleet have been declared a state secret. If that were not the case I would certainly have even more interesting stories to tell you upon my return. But I have also met some exceptional people and had many other enlightening experiences while in the Hania Federation. I am glad to have come and an eager to tell you all about it."

Atosuryua stared into space. _What did you tell the Emperor that got him spooked enough to send nine fleets here at best speed? What did you see that they don't want the rest of us to know?_ It was just another part of the mystery surrounding the mad, mad war that never was. That the enemy had been building and manning their ship using these Mimic creatures was now well known. But she could not help thinking there was much more to it than copies of brains being hooked into robots. That fleet they had "chased" into the galactic core had gone on beyond the limits of their radar, it had been vast beyond imagining. Even if it had been mostly transports, it could have crushed the Space Force. They had not run, they had chosen to call off the war they were about to win. Everybody knew it but nobody seemed to want to talk about it.

Her door chime rang. She sighed and activated the intercom. "Come," she called. The door opened and Sobash entered. "Good evening, Commander," her Deputy Commander said.

Atosuryua smiled at him. "Good evening, Sobash. I thought you were working on those damnable intelligence reports." Even though all the ships in the fleet had seen essentially the same things on their radar screens, the Imperial Admiral was asking for detailed analyses of the observed enemy actions from absolutely everybody. It would generate reports that could keep the intelligence branch busy for years if they wanted.

"I was. I know I promised not to disturb you, but something has come up that I think we should discuss."

"Not a problem. Have a seat." She was actually glad for the company. She had been starting to brood, which was a bad habit to get into.

Sobash sat down. He always spoke casually, but she could tell when he had something serious to tell her. "There was an Imperial Decree that came by the last relay ship, and also a sealed order directly from the Imperial Admiral addressed to the Devastator Squadron commander. They are both regarding the disposition of Mimics."

"What disposition? I thought they were all gone now."

"Not the Mimics on the Vensath base. The decree is regarding the creation of new Mimics. Basically the Empire is adopting the same policy as the Hania Federation. Effective immediately, possession of or trafficking in functional brain scans or in robots modified to accept them is a capital offense."

"That makes good sense." Atosuryua was uneasy, she had the feeling that she was missing something important. "So why would I be getting personal orders on that subject?"

Sobash's expression sobered. "The sealed order is regarding the Mimic that Hecto-Commander Abriel granted asylum to."

In a flash Atosuryua remembered. In her letter, her Highness had spoken of the Mimic she had met in Hania City. Miriam Hender was her name. She was the woman to whom Abriel had granted asylum and - reading between the lines - had obviously become good friends with. She was the woman her Highness was looking forward to bringing to her new life in the Empire.

She was the woman who had just been turned into illegal contraband slated for disposal.

Without another word Atosuryua turned on her portable terminal and found the new message waiting for her. It was worse than she had feared. As the one who brought the "contraband" into the care of the Space Force, Hecto-Commander Abriel was being compelled to personally conduct and confirm the destruction of the contraband. And as her commanding officer Atosuryua was being ordered to personally supervise and confirm its destruction. It said explicitly that failure to do so promptly would invite the death penalty. Atosuryua was the one who was supposed to inform Abriel of all this immediately upon her return to Abh Empire space, no sooner and no later.

Atosuryua shot to her feet. "Is that all they have to say?" she shouted. "After all she's been through she has to come back home to this? I'm supposed to order her to do this thing? Let them do it themselves, those damned-" She put her hand to her face and took a deep, shuddering breath. "Forgive me," she said softly.

"Space Force command has in any case made their intentions very clear," Sobash said calmly. "I don't like it but I don't see any way out. What do you think?"

"What do I think?" Atosuryua said in a bitter but controlled voice. "I have no idea what I am supposed to think. Copies of dead people walking around? What is this thing I am supposed to do anyway? Is it summary execution, is it like erasing a running movie X-ray of this woman's brain?" She balled her hands into fists. "Damn those Hanians for unleashing this horror on us, damn them to whatever hell they most fear!"

"I meant, what do you think we should do?" Sobash said gently.

Atosuryua calmed down and thought carefully for a minute. She came to a decision. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Deputy Commander," she said formally. "I will deal with the matter myself."

Sobash stood up. "Whatever you intend to do, I will support you without question."

She already knew that. But she did not want him to be a party to what she would be doing. That would be too much to ask. "I appreciate that, Sobash. I will let you know if I want any assistance."

"I understand. Then I'll wish you a good night, Commander." He saluted and left.

Atosuryua walked to her desk terminal and set it up to record a personal encrypted video message.

# # #

"Five, Four, Three, Two. And mark," the radar operator on the flagship's bridge said.

Jinto returned his attention to the viewer. There was not much to see. The radar view of local Plane Space still just showed little but the Vensath Gate and the cruiser squadron attached to the flagship, the only part of the fleet not already heading back to Empire space. A graphical display off to one side showed the energy distribution of space-time particles coming from the Gate. The graph suddenly surged. "There's the spike," the operator said. "That's it, the sun has gone nova."

It had been hours ago that they had set the timed fuse on the laser array and evacuated the Vensath system. The Admiral had even let Lafiel give the final order to set the fuse. Jinto thought it was a nice gesture, and it seemed to smooth things over between them considerably. It was probably as close to an apology as Lafiel would get for almost having been left behind to be the first person ever to perish in an exploding star.

Admiral Spoor stood up from her chair-cum-throne. "Does anybody have any parting words other than 'good riddance'?" she asked. Nobody did. "Then we need not dally here any longer. Comm officer, my regards to our Hanian friends and let them know that we will be leaving their space right away. Then tell ship commanders be ready to depart. Helmsman, take us back home if you please."

By agreement between the two governments a Hanian exploration ship was here to observe the departure of the Space Force. No doubt they had also confirmed the evidence of the stellar explosion. The spike in space-time particles indicated that the initial blast-wave from the star had passed through the cluster of habitations around the Gate. By now they would all be burning. Before long they would be nothing but ash and gas. Jinto actually felt a pang of regret. What was being destroyed represented wealth that would normally take the life work of millions of people to build. He understood the taint and the threat it represented, especially after hearing about the Collectives and some of the things they could do. But from his perspective this was also a tragic waste.

"Thank you for allowing us to bear witness," Lafiel said to the Admiral.

Spoor sat down again and smiled. "My pleasure Highness, I feel it was the least I could do. And I am happy that you are well enough to join us here today."

"I was not really that badly off to begin with, Admiral." Her bruises were almost gone now. Other than those and a bad cut to her leg she had only been suffering from slight malnutrition and some lingering side-effects of the vacuum exposure. While she was marooned on the base, water had been easy enough to obtain, but finding the little food there was on a station formerly inhabited mostly by Downloads had been a challenge.

"Nevertheless, I confess that I am returning you to your ship with some trepidation," Spoor said.

Lafiel frowned. "I'm not sure I understand."

Spoor smiled. "It seems that every time I come pick you up after this young man has taken you down to some strange planet or other you come back looking in worse shape than the time before. I fear he will be the death of you one day."

Lafiel smiled in turn. "Quite the contrary, Admiral. My life is under his protection and his is under mine. Together we can tread any path without fear."

Spoor appeared mildly surprised by her answer. "Indeed? Well, I hope I am there to collect you the next time you return from another strange and wondrous path."

Lafiel looked somewhat annoyed. "Somehow I feel sure that you will be."

"We do seem to be tied by a string of fate, don't we Highness?" Spoor said brightly.

"Admiral, we have a blip ahead of us," the radar operator reported. "Looks like one of our relay ships."

"No doubt the Imperial Admiral asking for confirmation that we've finished our mission." She smiled at Lafiel. "Would you like to do the honors of sending that message back to him?"

"Yes, Admiral. It would be a pleasure."

When the relay ship was in hailing range Lafiel sent the report on the Admiral's behalf. Other data was exchanged. There was nothing immediately needing the Admiral's reply so the relay ship turned about and headed back to Empire space for the last time, pulling ahead of the slower cruisers. "It is probably time I dismissed you two," Spoor said amiably to Lafiel. "I imagine you are getting tired of standing around on the bridge."

"Thank you, Admiral." Lafiel smiled at Jinto. "Jinto and I still have a lot of catching up to do."

"I'm sure." The Admiral steepled her fingers and grinned playfully. "Now that you have been released from sick bay I'm sure you will prefer getting reacquainted in more private space."

Lafiel's eye twitched. "Indeed." She and Jinto excused themselves from the bridge and made their way back to their quarters. Lafiel looked worried. "You don't suppose anybody saw-"

"I think she was just messing with your mind, Lafiel," Jinto said quickly. _Hopefully._

Lafiel sighed. "I knew that a Spoor could not go long without teasing an Abriel in her company. I swear it's in their genes."

"I'm sure she restrained herself as long as she could. She must still feel bad, you know."

"She should. Let's visit Miriam."

As soon as they saw Miriam at the door to her quarters, they could see that something was wrong. "Highness, Excellency, I'm glad that you've come. There's something I need to tell you." She let them in and then stood facing them. She stood calmly, but it was clear to see that she was distressed. "I'm afraid that I will be unable to return to the Empire with you."

Lafiel exchanged a puzzled glance with Jinto. "What do you mean, Miriam? This ship is heading back to the Empire right now. That is what we came here to tell you."

"I know," Miriam said. "I have been reading the public news feeds you gave me access to. An update just arrived a few minutes ago, I presume from another ship."

"Yes, we rendezvoused with a relay ship," Lafiel confirmed. "Has something happened?"

"Yes, Highness. The Emperor has decreed that trafficking in Mimics is now a capital crime in the Empire. I cannot have you invite the death penalty upon yourself." Her mouth quivered for a moment before she continued. "I am requesting that you have a technician remove my neural net and erase it."

"That's preposterous!" Lafiel stepped over to the desk terminal and sat down. "There must be some mistake." She brought up the latest news feed and found the item. Jinto looked over her shoulder and they read in silence. The item summary was brief and to the point. It was exactly as Miriam had said. "This is insane," Lafiel said, a dangerous underdone in her voice.

Jinto put a hand on her shoulder. "Lafiel, you should check for any new personal messages. I'm sure an exception is being made." He had to believe the Emperor would not send out something like this without Lafiel getting some personal explanation. It was just their fault for letting Miriam read the news feeds first, that was all.

There was a video message from Atosuryua. Her face looked troubled. "Hecto-Commander Abriel. My dear young princess. I wanted so much to send you a message saying how overjoyed I am to learn that you will be returning safely to us. But I have grave news for you. The Emperor has decreed that possessing and trafficking in Mimics is now a capital crime in the Empire. I have received personal orders saying that I must direct you to terminate the life of your friend Miriam Hender. I want you to know that I have no intention of carrying out that order. Please bring your friend to me without fear. Together I know that you and I can find a way to save her and let her live in peace as she deserves. However you wish to proceed, know that I will support you with my life. I very much look forward to seeing you and his Excellency again." She smiled. "And I look forward to meeting Miriam. Good-bye and good luck."

Jinto still had his hand on Lafiel's shoulder. He could feel her trembling. Conflicting emotions played across her face. Jinto imagined she felt much the same conflict he did. Atosuryua had just put her life on the line for them. They needed her help but they dare not ask it.

Lafiel deleted the message and stood to face Miriam. "I'm sorry you had to find out like this, Miriam. Don't worry, we'll talk with the Commander and figure out something to do."

Miriam shook her head slowly. "No, Highness. You cannot save me since I am already dead."

Lafiel grabbed her by the shoulders. "Stop that! You know I can't believe that! I promised to take care of you, Abriels keep their promises!"

"Do not throw your life away for the sake of pride, Highness," Miriam pleaded.

"It's not just pride!" Lafiel said in a husky voice. She wrapped her arms around Miriam and held her tightly. "It's not just pride! Why won't you understand that?"

Miriam returned her embrace gently. "Miriam Hender had a long and happy life," she said softly. "But she died and her family had to let go of her. Now you must let go of her too."

Jinto could see that Lafiel was trying very hard not to cry. He knew exactly how she felt. What Miriam said made perfect sense, but he could not accept it. He knew Lafiel would not accept it.

After a few moments Lafiel released Miriam, took her more gently by the shoulders and looked desperately into her eyes. "Do you really expect me to pull everything that you are out of your head and watch it be destroyed? After all we've been through together do you have any idea how that would make me feel? Do you really think I could live with myself after that?"

Miriam's resolve seemed to waver, but only for a moment. She met Lafiel's wild eyes without flinching. "And do you understand how I would feel knowing that one of my robot copies was saved at the expense of the one and only life you will ever have?"

That really struck home. Lafiel lowered her hands. Jinto had never seen her look so defeated. He felt the same sense of hopelessness. But he tried to think calmly. There was something he was missing. _Look beyond what is in front of you. Think of what it is you are really trying to protect._

"There is a way." Both Miriam and Lafiel turned to look at him. "There is a way we can save you, Miriam. And we won't even need to disobey our orders. But we'll need to get help from some old friends and some new ones."

# # #

Admiral Spoor was vexed. She had been on such a high over having been blessed with a golden opportunity to tease her favorite Abriel. Spoor was sure that she saw a blush on the girl's face when she fairly marched off the bridge. And the intelligence she had been able to gather was just too good to be true. She had been dying to see whether those two were really becoming an item and now she was sure of it, she was absolutely sure of it. Oh, that was going to open up so many opportunities for her. The next time that young lander lad took her down to some planet things were bound to get interesting. Spoor had to make sure she was there to see the aftermath. It had been such a coup, Spoor just had to take a break and relax in her bathtub while reading the latest news, just to luxuriate in the afterglow.

And now this had arrived and all Spoor could do was feel sorry for the poor little princess. She and his Excellency had clearly become fond of that woman trapped in the maid-robot body. Had they read the news by now? Did they know that she would have to be dismantled? Spoor could just imagine the Abriel's reaction, she would be furious. Spoor was afraid the girl would ask her help in some hopeless scheme to save Miriam. And damn it all thanks to that precocious lander boy she was clearly in the princess' debt. It was truly vexing. And to make things worse, her room intercom had just chimed. "Yes, what is it?" she snapped.

"Admiral, there has been a disturbance involving her Highness Abriel and his Excellency Linn."

"Could you be a little less vague, Chief-of-Staff?"

"They are both unharmed, but it appears that the Mimic attacked them and they had to.." His voice hesitated for a moment. "They had do subdue her. They called the Marine guard to report the incident."

Her Chief-of-Staff was not in the habit of being evasive unless it was something very unpleasant. She did not like the sound of this at all. "Tell them I will be there shortly." She quickly dried herself, let her hair down, pulled a long robe over her head and put on slippers. She was forever being pulled out of bed or bath to fix one emergency or another, so it was nothing her crew had not seen before. She made her way to the guest quarters. There was a Marine guard standing outside the open door. Spoor looked in the doorway and witnessed an extraordinary tableaux. It looked like a murder scene from a bad play. The maid-robot was lying on the floor in a small pool of black coolant. Something was sticking up from her chest. Extraordinarily it was a command baton. Her Highness was slumped in a chair, looking inconsolable. His Excellency stood over her with hands on her shoulders. His look was defiant, as if daring anybody to blame them for what had happened. The poor Marine commander crouched next to the robot looked imploringly up at the Admiral as if pleading for her to make sense of this. All Spoor could think to ask was "What happened?"

"I gave her access to the news feeds," Lafiel said quietly, looking at nobody. "She found out that Mimics have been made illegal in the Empire." Her bitterness was thick. "She thought I had been keeping it from her. We tried to calm her down, but she attacked us. Her robot body doesn't have a fail-safe."

So she had to dispatch the robot in the same way the Collectives had taught her to dispatch Download bodies. Spoor could see a fresh bruise forming on her Highness' face. "Do either of you need to go to sick bay?"

Lafiel shook her head. "Could you please take her out of here and prepare her for transport?" she asked in a tiny voice. "I am required to take her back to my commander to confirm the destruction of contraband."

That surprised Admiral Spoor. The robot body could easily be repaired. _Is she just giving up?_ Then she understood the import of what had happened. A civilian had assaulted Space Force officers in a war zone. Mimic or not, her life was forfeit.

Spoor addressed the Marines. "You two, wrap her in a blanket and take her to inventory. She is to be prepped for transport and added to her Highness' personal effects." They worked in silence. A minute later, they had carried her out of the room. "You received orders regarding Miriam Hender?"

Lafiel nodded, finally looking at her. "From my squadron commander. I will have to erase Miriam's memory in my commander's presence before I can make preparations."

Spoor frowned. "Preparations for what?"

Lafiel looked at her angrily, as if she had just displayed astonishing rudeness. "For Miriam's funeral, of course."

"Admiral, I'd like to take Lafiel out of here," Jinto said. "Could we return to our own rooms?"

"Yes, of course." Without another word they walked out into the hall and entered one of the other quarters that had been assigned to the guests. Spoor went back to her own room to change. She did not feel much like relaxing in the bath any more. This had completely ruined her day.

# # #

Lafiel thought that all the official welcomes would be difficult for her. But they were surprisingly comforting. Everyone in the Devastator Squadron was happy to have her back. It really was like coming back home. It felt even more so when she was back on her own ship. The crew of the Frikov managed to find a room on the local base where they could throw a welcoming party, there not being a single room on the frigate that could really accommodate the entire crew at once. It was wonderful just to see all their faces and hear all their voices again.

But the best was just her, Jinto and Ekuryua sitting and talking in her room and playing with Jinto's cat. Lafiel's XO did not talk much, but she was a good listener. They talked mostly about Hania and Thracia. Lafiel was actually glad that she could not speak of what happened on Vensath, it was not something she really wanted to share. There were some things she had not told anyone, not even Jinto.

When the subject of Miriam came up, she let Jinto do the talking. It still hurt, having to lie to somebody who was this close to her.

"That's very sad," Ekuryua said. "But maybe it's for the best. The dead should be allowed to rest in peace."

"Hopefully nobody will disturb their peace again," Jinto said. It looked like everybody was trying to make sure it stayed that way. Through the Hania diplomatic channels, the members of the Triple Alliance had all solemnly declared their intent to follow the Empire's lead and make sure no Mimics were ever seen again. There at least seemed to be one thing they could all agree upon. How long that would last was anybody's guess.

"Did you hold a funeral service?" Ekuryua asked.

"Yes," Lafiel said. "Just Jinto and I were in attendance. We decided on de-orbit." That meant her robot body had been shot out a linear accelerator fast enough to cancel the orbital speed of the local base. She had fallen straight into the sun.

"Perhaps you could hold a memorial dinner on her next birthday," Ekuryua said.

"That's troubling, do we know her birthday?" Jinto said, suddenly anxious.

"Yes, it was in the file Inspector Laroc showed to us," Lafiel said, annoyed that he would not remember even that much. "I confess I don't remember but we could always ask him."

"I would love to have an excuse to get together with him and Kathryn," Jinto said.

"Yes, I would like to do that some time," Lafiel said. Especially since they really needed to thank Camin in person for the extraordinary favor they had been compelled to ask him.

"Maybe Demetrius and Larych will be able to come as well." They already had a letter from Warward Demetrius. The state of emergency on Thracia had ended, and far from being arrested he was being feted as a savior of the Federation. From what their news feeds were saying, without his spirited defense of Thracia the traitors at the Vensath base would have swept through the Federation all the way to Hania City before the Empire could intervene. "But who knows where we will be when the time comes."

"You never know when old friends will show up," Jinto said. "I mean, we go to some unknown place on the edge of the Hania Federation and suddenly Admiral Spoor shows up again. Hey, maybe we could invite her to the memorial dinner too."

"I'm sure you must be joking," Lafiel said coldly. "That is one thread of fate I would like to be as long as it can be."

"If you invite every person the deceased has ever met, it will not be a dinner any more," Ekuryua pointed out. "It would be a crowd."

"True enough," Jinto said. "I was getting carried away."

"Who would you like to be at your memorial dinner, Flyer Linn?" Ekuryua asked.

Jinto chuckled nervously. "Commander, I'm not dead yet."

"When the time comes, I shall certainly make the arrangements," Lafiel assured Ekuryua. "You will be invited, of course."

"I'm not too pleased about you planning all this now, Lafiel," Jinto said.

"It is something that will happen to us all sooner or later, Jinto," Lafiel said. "We all have made a will and testament, have we not? This is no different."

"Okay, then I'm sure you won't mind if I make plans for your memorial dinner, just in case."

"I would expect no less from you," Lafiel said sternly.

"Flyer Linn, there is something I have been meaning to ask you," Ekuryua said.

Jinto looked nervous. "Yes?"

"It is something I have been wondering about. When Abh die, they sleep more each day until one day they do not wake up. When cats die it is without warning, one day they are simply found somewhere cold and stiff. I have been wondering, do landers die more like Abh or like cats?"

Jinto's mouth dropped open. Nothing came out. Lafiel just burst out laughing. The hurt look on Jinto's face made it all the more funny. She almost laughed herself to tears. "Et tu, Brutus?" he said.

Lafiel was still panting. "Cultural reference," she wheezed.

"You can look it up."

Ekuryua looked from one to the other. "Did I say something impolite?" She seemed to be just asking out of curiosity.

Jinto's look of wounded pride escalated. "You just see whether I bother getting any Passion-fruit for you at our next port of call."

# # #

Lafiel waited at the boarding umbilical. Her ship was supposed to launch thirty minutes from now, where could he be? This was their last stopover before arriving at the front. If they were late launching she would catch hell from the squadron commander.

Finally she saw him running down the corridor towards her. As he ran up to her she put her hands on her hips and glared at him. "You are ten minutes late! What was so important that you had to suddenly run off like that?"

"I got a personal note from a local merchant I had made inquiries with. He had what I was looking for." He held up an arm that had a bag dangling on string handles from his elbow. From the shape there was a bottle of some sort in it. "Hanian liqueur, the one you really liked."

"All the way out here? How did you find that?"

"There are ways. You've got to know these things when you're a supply officer."

"If you say so." She pointed to another bag he was cradling in his other arm. "And that?" As they walked up the glass umbilical to the ship he pulled a green fruit out of the bag and handed it to her.

"Don't tell me, Passion-fruit?"

"The genuine article."

"So, I guess there are no hard feelings with my XO then. That's big of you." She turned it over in her hand. "Why is it called Passion-fruit?" She gave him a suspicious look. "You wouldn't be trying to slip her a natural aphrodisiac, would you?"

"I think it's a reference to the cross shape on its surface, some old legend or other. He even gave me a database of drinks, we'll have to try some."

"And this is all you got?"

"Give me some credit, Lafiel. A case has already been loaded. This is just a sample I brought to experiment with."

They arrived at the open airlock. "You need to be on the bridge on time too, you know," Lafiel said.

"I will be. I'm sure I have time to go put these in my refrigerator first."

"Well then step lively, pilot. Don't you know there's a war on?"

# # #

**Epilogue**

The problem with the big projects was that you spent more times in meetings than actually getting any work done. Samson pined for the days when he was responsible for just a handful of engineers and one little antimatter engine on an assault boat. But with construction of his Excellency Linn's third antimatter plant underway, he had hundreds of people to worry about and most of them forever wanting a bit of his time.

Just like the guy pouncing on him now as he was trying to sneak unseen down the construction shack corridor to the little pub. "Hey, boss. Seelnay says she wants to see you in her room."

"In her room? What, is she complaining about the noise again? This isn't a resort hotel, it's a fabrication and assembly site. If she wants peace and quiet she can pay for her own orbital shack."

"No complaints this time, in fact she's really happy right now. She's been showing off her new toy to everyone. Some souvenir that Princess Abriel sent to her from Hania."

Samson sighed. "Fine, if I don't show up she'll just keep pestering me." He turned around and went the other way, towards the women's quarters. "Probably just some stupid new accessory or something," he muttered, smiling. Seelnay was a good technician and her company was doing really great work here. But if you didn't watch her like a hawk and make sure her work contracts were ironclad she would rob you blind. Fortunately, all it took was a word from her Highness and the girl would step back into line yesterday if not sooner.

He arrived at the door to her room and rang the chime. The door slid open. The brown-haired woman's eyes were fairly sparkling. "Samson! Come see what her Highness sent me from Hania!" She ran back into the room. The other two young women in her company were also crowded into the small living room of the modest quarters. And there was one more. Seelnay grabbed her by the shoulders and brought her own cheek up against the other woman's as if they were posing for a picture. "Isn't she just adorable?"

Samson took a closer look. "A maid robot? You've got to be kidding." It was a really nice looking one too. The change of expression on her brown-skinned face was very natural as she smiled. Samson had heard of these types, they cost a small fortune.

"I couldn't believe it when she arrived! Her Highness had her customized for me, programmed to speak Baronh and everything! It will be so great having her here!"

Samson took a look around. "Well, hopefully this place will look a little less like a disaster area now. Uh, did you give her a name?"

"Her Highness gave her one already. She's called Miriam."

"Really? Pleased to meet you, Miriam."

The robot bowed. "Pleased to meet you, mister Samson sir." Her inflection was pretty good too.

Seelnay was looking at her like a kid adoring a new puppy. "Oh, I just love her voice. She's going to serve drinks at all my parties."

"I'm sure," Samson said. "Well, have fun girls. And remember, her repair budget is on your nickel."

Samson shook his head as he walked back to the bar. He knew Seelnay was her Highness' vassal but she was spoiling the girl rotten. What next, her own fully detached habitat?

# # #

Seelnay looked at Miriam anxiously. "What do you think, was that a bit too over the top?"

"No, I think you did very well," Miriam said in her natural voice. "As her Highness said, the idea is to hide in plain sight."

"I'm still blown away by how you can slip in and out of your robot persona, Miriam," Seelnay's friend Alusa said.

"Yes, you've got everybody fooled!" her second friend Greida said. "Were you an actor before?"

"Not in my first life, no," Miriam said. "But I had to become one. Hania has the same laws as the Empire." She sounded worried now. "I had to make sure I was never found out. It's easy for me now, but I'm not sure how easy it will be for you."

"Don't you worry about that," Seelnay said, squeezing her arm. "What kind of a businesswoman would I be if I hired people who can't keep a secret?"

"Hey, I think it's time we toasted the arrival of the newest member of the company," Alusa said.

Miriam wanted to get the drinks, but Seelnay insisted that just this once it would be her job. Of course for Miriam it had to be from her cache of pure ethanol. "Hey, is that fit for human consumption too?" Greida asked. She held out her drink. "Set me up with some!"

Seelnay ended up spiking all of their drinks. "Hey, can you get tipsy?" she asked Miriam.

Miriam smiled. "Not from this. But there is a way to simulate it on my neural net with a small tweak if I want to."

"As long as you can tweak it back again," Alusa said. "There are some times when we could have used a designated pilot, let me tell you."

Seelnay basked in the glory of it all. The backup data crystal and the letter explaining what it was had arrived from her Highness just days before the robot body had arrived from Hania. Now Seelnay also had a direct link with her Highness, a special comm terminal with military-grade encryption keyed on her biometrics. And why not? Her Highness' letter had explained it all, she was trusting Seelnay with one of the biggest secrets in the galaxy. Seelnay knew what she had to do. Come Hell or high taxes, she would protect that secret with her life. Count on it!

Seelnay raised her glass. "To Miriam Hender, newest trainee of the Seelnay Company!"

**The End**

**Author's Postscript**

I tried to stick with the canon established in the Crest of the Stars novel translations and the Banner of the Stars anime adaptations as best I could. Since my Japanese knowledge is insufficient for me to be able to read the original novels, so no doubt there are gaps in my knowledge of the canon material. My attempts to fill those gaps may very well have introduced inconsistencies. I think a couple of these in particular are worth mentioning.

From what I have seen, very little is said about the government structure and society of the Hania Federation. About all I can gather is that they are a democratic state and have a fairly uniform culture across the Federation. I have made the assumption that the government is some form of republic. It is probably obvious that I based my own idea about their government loosely on the American constitution. I pictured their culture as being something like the modern Western world. It is a largely secular culture where people enjoy a great degree of personal freedom. There is a mass media and a fairly stable government based around a long-established bureaucracy.

The idea of the Failed Dreams is something inspired by Vernor Vigne's novel A Deepness In The Sky. Vigne is the author who originated the idea of the technological singularity. The idea is that as technology progresses we will eventually build robots and computers capable of improving themselves without our help. At that point technological progress can advance exponentially, and would be beyond human control. The "singularity" is a metaphor for the region of a Black Hole where normal laws of physics break down and predictions of future events are no longer possible. In the same way, after the technological singularity is achieved, the usual rules of technological development break down and we no longer have any predictive power or control over how the self-improving technology will change itself. Today pundits like Ray Kurzweil predict that an integration of robotics, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology and biotechnology will bring about the technological singularity in our lifetimes. But what if they are wrong? In the future depicted in Crest of the Stars they must have been wrong, since two thousand years later humankind has not achieved any of the usual results associated with the technological singularity: artificial brains of superhuman intelligence, nanotechnology of arbitrary complexity and biological immortality. If the singularity pundits are wrong and these things cannot be achieved for a very long time or at all, then I think at some point these would become known as the Failed Dreams from the early days of our technological civilization. Development of technology would continue to plod along with very slow, incremental progress. Our main area of progress would be the migration of humanity to other stars. It is this migration that I termed the Diaspora. In the Crest of the Stars universe, the discovery of Plane Space was the main driving force behind the Diaspora.

Thank you for reading this far, I hope you enjoyed the story.

Ken Wolfe


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